After last week’s garbage in Washington the Green Bay Packers needed a win. Enter the Buffalo Bills.
Even though the Bills destroyed the Minnesota Stinkings last week, we knew this was coming. The Bills employ rookie quarterback Josh Allen. Not only does he look like he just came out of the womb, but he played like it on Sunday, too.
Allen had a rating of 36.3 on the day.
That’s the thing about rookie quarterbacks. They’re kind of uneven.
And the Packers came after the kid. After not registering a sack last week, the Packers had seven against the Bills.
Let’s run down that list: Kyler Fackrell, Blake Martinez, Reggie Gilbert, Jermaine Whitehead, Clay Matthews, Nick Perry.
Fackrell, who we have been highly critical of, had three sacks. He played the best game of his career on Sunday.
And we will also mention that it appears the league has gotten its shit together and stopped messing around with the roughing the passer nonsense. There was a hit on Aaron Rodgers in which someone came clean and clearly landed with his full body weight on top of Rodgers. No call.
And that’s fine.
On this day, it was the Packers’ defense that carried the day. You don’t get many shutouts in the NFL, but the Packers pitched one today at 22-0. Blake Martinez was solid as hell. Kenny Clark was stout up front, especially considering that Muhammad Wilkerson is down. And yes, I’m going to stop ragging on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix for the time being.
That hit and pick that he delivered on Kelvin Benjamin in the third quarter was amazing. Knocked Benjamin the hell out of the game. Clinton-Dix now has picks in three consecutive games. It’s worth pointing out that that he’s in a contract year, but it’s also possible he’s finally developed into the guy we all expected when he was drafted. It’s also possible he’s just a great fit for Mike Pettine’s defense.
Either way, aside from some early gaffes, the guy looks great this season.
On the other side of the ball, there are some concerns.
Let’s start by saying Aaron Rodgers didn’t have his best game. He looks more mobile than he has since injuring his knee, which is great. He threw one pick on a tipped ball, but easily could have had two more. He just didn’t seem to be at his sharpest, but those games happen. Rodgers is not a guy we are worried about.
What is worrying is the Packers continued failure to score touchdowns. Mason Crosby is swell and all, but this game should have been more than a 22-point win. Crosby kicked three field goals on the day. That’s good enough to beat the Bills, but two weeks ago he kicked five against the Vikings. You know how that worked out.
Things that were promising offensively? Aaron Jones is at the top of that list. After averaging 7.0 per carry last week, he averaged 5.9 this week. Led the team with 65 yards rushing, while Jamaal Williams averaged 2.5 per carry. But keep using this rotation system, Gravy Head.
It was also encouraging the way Gravy Head utilized Ty Montgomery early in the game. He carried five times for 18 yards and caught two balls for 56 yards. It’s clear the dynamic ability he can bring to the offense, especially as a receiver out of the backfield. You go ahead and cover that guy with a linebacker or safety. But again, let’s keep Jamaal Williams in that running back rotation, Gravy Head.
And finally, somehow, it seems Geronimo Allison has become Aaron Rodgers’ favorite receiver. Perhaps it’s the coverage, but Allison led the team with 80 receiving yards. He leads the team in receiving yards on the season. He also had two passes hit him in the hands that he dropped, and arguably a third if you want to count that toss to the end zone. Thing is, it’s basic football shit. Football 101, if you will. You make the window with your hands, which Allison did not do on any of those non-catches. And yet, Rodgers obviously trusts him, because he kept going back to him after the drops.
In the end, we’ll take it, though. The Packers need to improve in some areas, especially in putting points on the board. But hell, a win is a win is a win.
Is this the same Josh Allen that beat the queens last week 27-6 and had a passer rating of 111??
Is this the same Josh Allen that couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag against the Packers, Ravens, and Chargers?
I knew the queens window of winning was going to be short, but holy shit they are already a hot mess. Nice run boy’s….
Enjoy that fucking banner you fucking losers.
Watching the game I asked many around me, why aren’t we tossing the ball at MVS or any other rook who was later cycled into the rotation? Okay, early on you want to control the game and get a lead, you want to keep a lead too. But later on when they were up by 16-19-22 points I was out and out ragging about them not throwing to Valdes-Scantling more than they finally did (3).
As the author pointed out, Allison was targeted plenty and had a few drops/non-catches that he should have had, but Graham did too. Valdes-Scantling was targeted once where he screwed up but he later turned a 38 yarder. So, give these guys more chances when you can because, you were playing the Bills and you owned ’em at that point. Where are the days when Rodgers lit up 9-10-11 different targets, or more, in one game? Seven players were targeted. Out of 40 passes tossed, Adams, Allison, and Graham accounted for 31.
Nice to point out that volleyball/football player Kyler Fackrell had three sacks. But, the heads up play by Fackrell was where he spun out of his block and caught Allen trying to escape on a designed QB draw. Fackrell played it athletic and smart and caught him right at the line of scrimmage. That play showed some promise for Fackrell. Some…
Rodgers looked better for having practiced just a bit more this week but,… yeah, still not ideal. Crosby is still getting too much work. So, maybe we need to spread things around more.., little less predictable… (me broken record). Throwback uniforms and at this point I see no evidence that Mike Daniels could not keep his britches dry. Good thing.
Never bought into the “once we get Joe Philbin back our offense will be great again talk” either. 2011 was a long time ago. You cant do this shit week after week. Philbin and McCarthy are completely out of their leagues now as far as offensive game planning and calling a game. McCarthy’s insistence on getting everyone their “touches” is complete horse shit. He says he plays the hot hand. But that’s just coach speak, he doesn’t. This team is so bland right now its not even funny. Hard to gauge this game due to the Bills being total crap.
Theybaremlight years behind the next wave…the Marty Schottenheimer coaching tree….
A win is a win…..
But lets face it, this is Buffalo, and i don’t care how good the Bills looked against the Ladies of the West. They will be a 3 or 4 win team, if that.
As far as the entertainment value of watching this game, i’ll rate it 2 levels above watching paint dry.
The bright spot of all of this, is for Pettine and the defense, they stopped the bleeding for 1 week as far as defensive scoring is concerned. A one week reprieve so to speak.
The game to watch was the Browns and Raiders game….WOW.
Jordy Nelson’s….5 for 48 and 1 TD performance helped the Raiders cause, as did Jared Cooks 8 catches for 110 yards and 2 TD’s. 23 points from two former Packers.
But on the bright side closer to home…..Jimmy Graham did have 3 catches for 21 yards and his first TD as a Green Bay Packer. Bringing substantial return on our 13 million dollar investment.
Dude, enough bitching about Jordy Nelson. We get it. Pretty inconsequential.
On the other hand, not trading for Mack is looking worse and worse by the week. Watched the bears game today. Again he stood out. Did Mike Daniels do anything today?
Mack is a stud killer and trading for him is the best move in the history of the Bears organization since drafting Walter Payton. I said give up both 1st round picks for him. Problem was the money I guess.
Kato, was i bitching? Show me where i was bitching, bitch.
Looks to me like i commented on the stat line of the Raiders game.
But if you want to go, remember, you opened the door.
I’ll say what i want, when i want, and i won’t wait to get permission from your little bitch ass, dude.
But listen…..if i hurt your feelings somehow, i’d like to take this time to apologize because…
Fuck off.
Sheesh. Someone was drinking yesterday. That is a lot of anger towards a simple remark. Look, rehashing Jordys game statistics after every game is going to get old. You have already let everyone here know how unhappy you were with the move. Yes, I agree I would like to see more ROI with Jimmy Graham. I tend to agree with probably 90% of what you say.
Stone sober. My post are almost always posted with sarcasm and a grin. Matter of fact, i smiled when i read your post and told you what i thought of it anger free. But if you want to pretend you know my alcohol content, or even my level of emotion, knock yourself out little man.
As far as the 10% you don’t want to read, simply don’t read it if it bothers you. The other 90% that entertains you and you learn from, a simple “thank you” will suffice.
But i digress, i’ll try to think twice and examine closely what i post before i send. If i happen to trip up, and i post something you are not happy with, please, by all means, feel free to …….eat a dick.
Ferris I dont think money was the issue. He was willing to take on the cap hit given how he was trying to trade for him. He just didnt think he was worth two firsts. Which, well, to be perfectly blunt about it, is idiotic
Kyler Fackrell?
Did not see the game… but my first thought was how did the Vikings and that “great defense” give up 26 and lose to this team? I also do not see any comments recently from someone to not be named. I guess you can’t jack off to Viking losses and get inspired to pontificate. 3.2.1…..
Yea, the Lonely Boy would be commenting, but apparently he’s too busy studying the probable percentages of his queens finishing either 3rd or 4th in the Division this season.
& the ViQueens, Lions, ShEagles, & Falcons all lost
Im just pissed at McCarthy and Philbins lack of innovation for Rodgers. McCarthy has the look of all of it being over his head now. He looks lost and unsure. If Aaron Jones gets 20-25 carries a game hes good for 125 yards easy. Imagine building off that now. Instead of forcing throws to covered WRs and TEs right off the bat.
Kato…people are bitching (actually bitching) about the Packers, even though we won in a shut out.
GO GET EM!!
If Gute had let go Fackrell you guys would be bitching about how stupid he was for giving away someone like Fackrell.
Allison likely has s concussion, so he’s out a few weeks.
As for the offensive problems, I lay it all on Rodgers. He was inaccurate all day. He took shots down field when he should have taken shorter routes and just gotten a first down. Seems like he was pissed at something all day.
Perfect time to bring in Dez.
Yeah, that makes total sense. Bring in some well known malcontent who hasn’t had any time in your system whatsoever just because one of your guys has a concussion and is going to be out for a week.
Or, the much more logical solution… they play Valdes-Scantling in Allison’s place.
I too have not seen the game yet. Yardwork, a birthday get-together, and riding my bike were more important. I will fast forward through it tomorrow and skip all the BS.
I see the Packers won 22-0. From what I get out of a few articles the defense played great, and the offense was blah. Rodgers is none too happy about how the offense is being run or the plays being called. Yahoo implied that it was a shot at McCarthy for his buffoonish ways. #12 said although they put up 400 some yards and 22 points, it should have been 600 yards and 45 points with how receivers were being covered.
Surprise, surprise… more of the same stubborn, bland, nonsensical playcalling from McDoubleChin. It reminds me of that GIF or video clip of Rodgers telling McCarthy “Stupid Fucking Call.”
https://deanblundell.com/video-aaron-rodgers-tells-mike-mccarthy-making-stupid-fucking-call-hes-probably-right/
How long until this guy either gets it (which he won’t), lets someone else make the calls, or gets the boot? This offense has been so damn stale for so long. How long until Papa Murphy allows Gutekunst the permission to make his own coaching decision? And don’t give me the whole “if you get rid of McCarthy there’s no one better than him to replace him with so you might as well stick with him forever.” So what you’re saying that we can only go after coaches that have won a Super Bowl once upon a time and have been out of the league for a number of years? Aka- John Gruden, Bill Cowher, etc. That’s just stupid.
Doug Pederson and Sean McVay have emerged in the head coaching ranks well after McCarthy started shitting the bed. There’s at least one more guy like that out there somewhere. What if the Packers stuck with Curly Lambeau instead of bringing in Vince Lombardi? Not to say Lambeau wasn’t a great coach at one time but he was towards the tail-end of his career, he wasn’t keeping up with the trends of the game, and I highly doubt he would have won 5 titles in 7 years. McCarthy isn’t worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as either of those two. But the point is, this team has been getting in its own way for far too long to keep ignoring it. Something has to give. The Broncos got rid of John Fox, a guy who consistently brought the team to the playoffs and has the highest winning percentage in team history but could never get the job done. Then in his first year, Gary Kubiak wins it all with Manning being out half the year and playing like turd in the Super Bowl. That wouldn’t happen in GB though, they like to keep guys around five years longer than they should just to make sure it was the right decision. At least they get to hang out with their buddies a little bit longer. Maybe we can get a photo op of Murphy, McCarthy, and Thompson all going down the sledding hill together, holding hands with BFF necklaces.
News flash…..McCarthy will NEVER “get it” Unless “it” is deep fried and covered in chocolate. He needed to be fired 5 years ago. Like I said in the past, glad Rodgers got ONE ring and ONE trip to the SB. The only hope for another one now for him with the Packers is McCarthy gets canned and when he is 40 and broken down he gets another ring like Peyton Manning did at the end.
Quote from a Yahoo article today…filed under no fucking shit.
Have Packers underachieved with Rodgers?
Rodgers and McCarthy have worked together for the entirety of McCarthy’s 13-year tenure as Green Bay’s head coach. It’s a long-term relationship that’s had its rumored friction before.
The two have won a Super Bowl together. But’s it’s not a stretch to say that the Packers have underachieved over a decade-plus of having arguably the most talented quarterback of his generation at the helm. McCarthy’s refusal to take chances with a talent like Rodgers can largely be blamed for Green Bay’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 NFC championship.
There are surely Packers fans who wonder how McCarthy kept his job following that performance. With Rodgers in his 14th season, there’s only so much time left in his window to win Super Bowls and build on his legacy, a fact he’s surely aware of.
Rodgers has always seemed to disagree with McCarthy on play calling. There was a time at the end of 2015 and at the beginning of 2016 when the Packers won only 8 of 20 games when it seemed that Rodgers was just trying to prove a point to McCarthy that his offense needs to to change by running only McCarthy’s plays and his QB rating sank into the 80s. I hope Rodgers and McCarthy don’t go through another spell where they disagree and Rodgers goes through the motions.
Rodgers has a point though, get his best receivers open, don’t use them as decoys to get the 3rd and 4th receivers open who will run the wrong routes and get you interceptions.
There was also the blowup on the sidelines in was that 2012 or 2013? Cincinnati. Which should have been a huge red flag.
Count me in as someone that is officially fed up with McCarthy. I am just done. He had his run, his offense has gotten to the point where it is stale. There is no creativity anymore. I don’t see plays designed to get the balls in the hands of guys like Jimmy Graham or Ty Montgomery in space. I have commented on Aaron Jones inability to pass protect, but you have to find a way to get him the ball more. This offense should be averaging 30+ points per game. Contrary to popular belief, they do have some good players at the skill positions that are being underutilized.
Hopefully this game was a confidence booster for the defense.
I take nothing away from this game other than the same issues on the offensive side of the ball I pointed out last week.
There’s no perspective to gain on the defensive side. They shut down and shut out a (flukey) one-win team, with a struggling rookie QB at home. They did what they were supposed to do, feast on a struggling team that’s going to get beat down all year long. I hope they’ll use this game as a confidence builder and start putting together four-full-quarters going forward – particularly the D-Line and supporting pass rush.
The best thing I saw all day on Sunday, was a tweet from… Ryan Wood? Zach Krause? …. can’t remember, but:
“Mike Pettine is getting production out of Kyler Fackrell. Packers DC for President”
I laughed, hard.
Yeah. There is no tempo to the packers offense. No identity really other than Rodgers just making plays. Is it all on McCarthy? No, some blame is Rodgers, some is on an inability to solidify offensive line depth, but a lot of it is on McCarthy. If you look around the NFL, there honestly arent a lot of strong offensive line groups out there. Hardly any teams have a solid backup plan at either tackle position. Injuries happen to every football team, they arent unique to the packers as some people act. It is up to coaching to scheme around deficiencies and put players in a position to succeed.
It has been said on this board. Whatever happened to the offenses that spread the ball around? Or the offense that had that guy like John Kuhn that could be counted on getting the first down, or was the red zone threat. I get that offenses are going to have their ups and downs, but I just dont feel like this offense has been great since 2014. I would take the 2013 offense sans Aaron Rodgers with Matt Flynn at the helm over this one
You and Mitch (above) raise great points about distribution that’s bounced around in the back of my head for a long time. When this offense was at it’s most effective and most dynamic, it relied on wider distribution. Seven, eight, or nine different players with touches. It made the opposition account for everyone, it stretched defenses and more importantly, it put the entire offensive unit and all it’s personnel in a rhythm. You always had the standout guys (Jennings, Nelson, Finley, etc) to do the heavy lifting, but other players got their touches too, and it kept them ready at any moment that when #12 went to them, they produced.
What ever happened to that?
I have this lingering feeling that while the play-calling has definitely gone south, I also think Aaron might have evolved himself to be TOO averse to risk sometimes. His aversion to turning the ball over is part of what makes him so great, but I think he also used to trust his guys more and throw them open more than he has over recent years. He used to put throws in the smallest of windows where only his guy could make a play quite often, but now it seems like only really looks for Tae, Cobb, and Graham on any play before bailing the pocket and going ad-lib. That’s either by play design, by his own execution, or a little of both. Maybe it’s his way to overcome a bad play call, or maybe he grown to demand such a high level of execution that he doesn’t truly trust anyone else.
I dunno if any of that has any bit of truth to it at all. Just something that’s crossed my mind here and there when I see the recurring offensive struggles, slow starts, and lack of consistent production.
Due to popular demand (or unpopular Piffle demand) I shall post.
First, a whole lot of whining and bitching for fans of a team that just won 22-0. I sometimes feel sorry for the Packers team having fans like you guys. Lose? You bitch hard. Win? You bitch just a little less hard.
I was not at all surprised the Vikings lost to the Bills. We are the team most likely to lose when favored and we are also the greatest underdog team most likely to win when not favored. Two sides of the coin. Not sure why it is but… it is.
I also was not at all surprised that the Packers lost to the Redskins or that the Packers beat the Bills. Why? Teams the week after they face the Vikings usually lose. Especially if they beat the Vikings. We wear them out I guess. Packers faced the Vikings and, of course, lost the following week. Bills beat the Vikings and, of course, lost the following week.
McCarthy is a jerk and all and an average to below average coach but the friction with Rodgers is a Rodgers thing. This is a Rodgers character flaw (one of them). He holds others accountable, not himself. He even holds them accountable for his own failures. You see it with his scowls and anger and pout faces whenever anything goes wrong. It is always the lineman not blocking or the WR running the wrong route, etc. He is perfect, all others fall far short. It is his little act and his life perspective. It’s his shtick.
He felt his family wasn’t perfect because they had free will and sought to live their own lives so he got rid of them. All of them and all his old acquaintances as well. His live-in boyfriend Kevin — no one bought that “personal assistant” con, a “personal assistant” who just happened to live with him because, you know, what with making millions and all of course he needed to save money by having a “roommate” — made Aaron look less than perfect so he got rid of him as well.
Any head coach would always be a private and sneakily public scapegoat for Aaron to blame failures upon.
I guarantee Rodgers would have the same or greater friction with any other HC — unless they slave-like did whatever he told them and, let’s face it… even then….
I guess the queens season isn’t going well when the Lonely Boy wants to talk about Rodgers family and his assistant from years and years and years ago. but that’s what’s on Lonely Boy’s mind week 4 into the NFL season. That’s a damn shame…lol.
Psssttttt, Lonely Boy……You might want to bring up that janitor that McCarthy got fired….Bwhahahahahaahahaha.
Remember the good times little man?….5-0, hanging banners, kool-aid and peanut butter cookies. The good ole days.
Our season is actually going as I expected at the 4-game mark. Well, almost. I did, before the season but not before the game, believe we would beat the Bills. But I also thought we’d lose to the Packers in Green Bay. Not because we aren’t the better team, we are. But, you know, divisional rivalries and all those games we’d won recently, it just seemed like we’d lose. I was very up front about that on this very site. So, yeah, I thought 2-2. Hey, no one predicts a tie!
NFL set up the Packers schedule nice and easy early — Bears at home, Vikes at home, Redskins away, Bills at home, Lions away, 49ers at home. Ridiculous. I thought they would be 3-1 or 4-0 after 4 games. 2-1-1 at this point for the Packers I consider a win for the Vikes. You’ll win your next two games, feel pretty good at 4-1-1, but then lose your next 2 putting you at 4-3-1 at the halfway mark. From there you’ll end up 9-6-1 but out of the playoffs losing a tie breaker to the Vikings.
I had forgotten about that horrible incident with McCarthy and that poor maintenance crew guy who may not have even said “don’t lay an egg” — which, if he did say it, was good advice anyway. You’re right, McCarthy is a terrible Human being. I was not arguing he is not terrible. Just that Rodgers also is.
Yea, i know, lol….you are very clairvoyant and use only common sense and expertise to predict game winners.
Yes, you said in your post that the Packers would win because …IT WAS THEIR TURN!!….lmao.
Very good little man, is that how the Vegas sports books do it, by whose turn it is?…lol
Listen Lonely Boy….If i want to hear a game prediction based upon “whose turn it is” i’ll confer with my 10 year old niece.