Game 2 - Atlanta - Studs and Duds

[PikeBadger]

The Green Bay Packers were that close to starting the season 2-0, but QB Jordan Love came up short in his first career opportunity at late-game heroics.

Jordan Love Sounds Off on Late Errors That Cost Packers Win

The Green Bay Packers were that close to starting the season 2-0, but QB Jordan Love came up short in his first career opportunity at late-game heroics.

heavy.com

Some People in the game thread were blaming Myers on the sneak.

 

[PikeBadger]

It’s pretty much what we said weeks ago. Growing pains. We did the hard stuff well and faltered in the easy stuff. Periodic points of poor discipline.

Knew this would be closer. We Really played pretty good overall. Hate to use injury excuse but we are without WR1, LT1, LG1, RB1. I don’t care what team that happens to you’ll suffer some.

Studs:
Love
DL as a whole
Reed

Duds:
-TE blocking was atrocious at times
-Savage missed a few big plays that went for chunks
-The missed Timeout was on MLF. He should’ve called a TO as the play-clock expired and it cost us 3 points earlier in the game and we lost because of those lost points
-Run D got a little ridiculous for a few drives but overall the D played ok ish

The TE blocking is going to be a problem all year I think. We miss Lewis there.

 

[BrokenArrow]

I think 8 or 9 wins is basically the definition of mediocre in the NFL. You could say that they should be mediocre because they're young. Still, it's on the front office that they are this young. Will the youngsters get better? Some of them. Some will get worse, some will get injured.

This makes no sense. The reason they are so young is because they have had two excellent drafts where the rookies showed enough to beat out a lot of veterans.

Now you're saying they're too young because of Gute. If we only had 7 or 8 rookies and second year players on the roster, you'd say the last two drafts were busts and you'd blame Gute. So, essentially it's a no-win for Gute from your perspective. No matter what he does, you'll find a reason to say it's bad.

 

[BrokenArrow]

So why would you take a young, evolving, talented team and hire and retain the most vanilla, unimaginative, dullard retread of a DC and put him in charge of your young defense?

Mostly because the defense improved immensely by the end of the season last year. We allowed the 2nd fewest points over the last 5 weeks last year. That's probably what sealed his return.

 

[Pugger]

So he has 47 seconds to get in FG range with no timeouts. The other team KNOWS he's passing so they apply the pressure and your OL is without its top two pass protectors. The odds are highly stacked against him, yet he's a dud, despite his receivers not getting open for him and the fact that he threw 3 TD passes to even have them in position to potentially win without our Pro Bowl RB. Yet, he's still a dud.

Categorically and emphatically disagree.

I couldn't see this game. Who was the other pass protector not playing other than Bak? I did see a few plays on NFL Red Zone and it looked like the D was having issues stopping the Falcons.

 

[Pugger]

What was Van Ness's injury?

Is it considered serious?

 

[adambr2]

Mostly because the defense improved immensely by the end of the season last year. We allowed the 2nd fewest points over the last 5 weeks last year. That's probably what sealed his return.

That's unfortunate, because he's has 3 failed tenures as DC, over a span of numerous years, and a random successful 5 week run does not override that.

 

[tynimiller]

This makes no sense. The reason they are so young is because they have had two excellent drafts where the rookies showed enough to beat out a lot of veterans.

Now you're saying they're too young because of Gute. If we only had 7 or 8 rookies and second year players on the roster, you'd say the last two drafts were busts and you'd blame Gute. So, essentially it's a no-win for Gute from your perspective. No matter what he does, you'll find a reason to say it's bad.

I believe you summarized that perfectly.

 

[tynimiller]

I couldn't see this game. Who was the other pass protector not playing other than Bak? I did see a few plays on NFL Red Zone and it looked like the D was having issues stopping the Falcons.

Jenkins went down as well.

 

[tynimiller]

Ugly game, but honestly the crazy thing is if you told me hey Ty - we are going to take Love's FOUR BEST OFFENSIVE players from him, go into Atlanta to play that defense what do you think? I'd have thought for sure we lose, and likely ugly.

I truly expected Jones to play and Bakh too....but I wonder if Bakh boycotts all turf games given his stance on that.

Anyways....I guess if forced to I'll roll out my studs and duds as follows:

DUDS -

Dillon, sadly he is starting SLOW again this year like last. He is 100% slowly locking in that he is a complimentary back, not worthy of RB1 discussions really. I'll also admit tough to run behind a line changing at times two or three times in a single drive...but still - Love Dillon but he deserves being here.

Ford - I just don't like him as a starter in the backend....

Bakh - I firmly believe if this isn't on turf he is in and for that I'm petty I know, but he gets a dud.


STUDS -

Dontayvion Wicks - I know some are pointing to the fade in the corner, yes it was a gorgeous ball, but you gotta view it from Tay's view....Terrell played it incredibly well and that balls' last six feet or so before clearing his shoulder was completely shut off and Wicks had to guess off his tracking where it was going...and that's if it doesn't get redirected. As high level of a throw that was needed, an equally high level catch was needed....it is a ball I think Wicks catches 5 or 6 times out of ten though...still this young man showed up in his ability to get open. I left the film wishing we drew up a few more first and second read looks his way then we did.

Jayden Reed - He is a shifty, young Cobb type for sure. His pairing in the WR room is special and I truly think we might have found a very special cog in an offensive wheel that by next year may very well be special.

Rasheed Walker - did he blow up the world and is a starter now for sure moving forward, no. BUT, it is clear now that he is 100% ahead of Yosh to this staff and he looked the part. Now, does he hit a ceiling in the future like Yosh seems to have in his progression? Who knows...but I do know we have a capable starting tackle in reserve yet again who just might make walking from Yosh and Bakh after this year far more digestible. Playing in the trenches in this league is incredibly tough, Walker has proven capable....now to see what he becomes.



**For the record Love wasn't great but dangit if he didn't go into Atlanta, lead four scoring drives in an ugly offensive struggle bus of a day....without his best four offensive players....didn't turn the ball over and had some GORGEOUS touch balls. While we all are pissed about the L, Love to me showed more this week in a very different way than he did in Week 1. This kid keeps polishing those corners....I think the league is going to be VERY SALTY with GB for a while again potentially.

 

[AmishMafia]

Hate to call anyone a dud on defense, but they didn't get the job done. So it is on Barry, though I didn't see any stupid defensive calls or scheme issues.

Of course Jaire and Quay need to hold onto those picks.
I saw Clark on the turf twice - not sure what was going on there.
I dont care how good Jaire is, when he is 6" shorter than the WR, there is only so much he can do.

Offensively, we already were down our top WR, rb, and OT, but our best OG out as well made it tough.


I admire Love's effort throughout the game. The last drive was poor. Not a single guy got open on 4 straight plays?

That Bijan Robinson looks amazing. He is going to give lots of defenses fits.

 

[mradtke66]

I put the majority of the failure on the offense. Particularly the 4th quarter offense.

At the end of the 3rd, Packers lead 24-12.

The offense had the ball three times. 1st drive: 3 plays, 2 yard, 0:52 TOP. 2nd drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, 2:03 TOP. 3rd drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, turn over on downs. That is not complementary football. The defense struggled against the run, but on the Falcon's final drive, they were obviously worn out. Their running attack did its job.

Had the offense done something on either of their 3-and-outs, Atlanta may have run out of time on their scoring drive. Maybe they panic and make a mistake. Had we scored, maybe Atlanta has to run less or abandon the run entirely. It's hard to say.

Is this loss on Love? No. 3 TDs is a fine showing, 6 yards per attempt is middling, 56% completion rate is poor, and 0/6 in the fourth is very poor. His passer rating is accurate, but he's not elevating is team mates. He did is job, but isn't good enough to do it himself. Maybe he'll get there.

Watson and Jones are our two best players. With neither of them, we did okay, but couldn't seal the game when it counted. This was 2022 all over again--without a scary pass catcher, a good defense shut us down.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Hate to call anyone a dud on defense, but they didn't get the job done. So it is on Barry, though I didn't see any stupid defensive calls or scheme issues.

Of course Jaire and Quay need to hold onto those picks.

Well, there's a reason they're not a WR and a TE.

I saw Clark on the turf twice - not sure what was going on there.
I dont care how good Jaire is, when he is 6" shorter than the WR, there is only so much he can do.

Offensively, we already were down our top WR, rb, and OT, but our best OG out as well made it tough.


I admire Love's effort throughout the game. The last drive was poor. Not a single guy got open on 4 straight plays?

That Bijan Robinson looks amazing. He is going to give lots of defenses fits.

Falcons are going to run all over a lot of people this year. Considering our youth all over the field, I don't consider this a bad loss. This is the kind of loss you build from.

 

[AmishMafia]

Well, there's a reason they're not a WR and a TE.


Falcons are going to run all over a lot of people this year. Considering our youth all over the field, I don't consider this a bad loss. This is the kind of loss you build from.

Well, a WR or TE I expect to be able to run, discern the coverage, make route adjustment, bring hands up at last possible moment, strectch out, catch the ball with a DB draped over you, and make the reception.

I expect even an average HS level athlete (even girl swimmers), to catch a football when you are standing there and the ball is thrown right to you. Hell, most kids have that mostly mastered by age 10 playing with their Dad in the back yard.

 

[mradtke66]

I expect even an average HS level athlete (even girl swimmers), to catch a football when you are standing there and the ball is thrown right to you. Hell, most kids have that mostly mastered by age 10 playing with their Dad in the back yard.

Your expectations are too high. Example: Me.

In high school, I played. I ranged between about 155 and 195 pounds depending on the year. I was one of the fastest guys on the team. Yet, they made me an offensive lineman because calling my hands "terrible" would be over-selling my ability to catch a ball.

Some people are hands catchers. Some people are body catchers. Some people look so unnatural catching the ball, the process can be called "fighting the ball." I'm current in round 3,722 vs. the last ball thrown at me in practice when I took a snap at scout-team fullback. The first 4 rounds were between when the ball hit my ands on the way the ground. That was 24 years ago.

 

[tynimiller]

Majority of high school athletes can catch a ball from a High School QB....against high school competition, on a field speckled with high school crowds....that however isn't the atmosphere which majority of NFL guys have on Sundays.

 

[JKramer64]

Studs:
Wicks
Reed
Walker (except for the dropped pick)

Duds:
Run defense
Dillon
Jaire
Savage

I wasn't too upset about the outcome. If Jones and Watson play, they win this game. Not to mention Bakhtiari and losing Jenkins in the first half.

Defense just ran out of gas in the 4th. I kept hoping someone would step up and make a play, but it never happened. Dillon not getting a yard on 3rd and one was a killer. Basically a total team collapse after a solid 3 quarters.

Shout out to the Packer fans who made the trip. I've been to a few road games and have never seen this many fans. Probably about 40% of the crowd. I've also never been in a stadium that loud. It had an effect on the Packers offense in the 4th quarter. With the number of empty seats and Packer fans, it made me wonder if they were piping in crowd noise like they allegedly used to do in the Georgia Dome.

 

[OldSchool101]

I think if we had any one of Watson, Bakh, Jones or Jenkins the whole game we would have won.

I’d contend 2 of that group and we’d easily Win but point taken and possibly 1 was the difference. Tell Atlanta they are playing without:
RB, Bijan Robinson,
WR, Drake London,
LT, Jake Matthews and
LG Matthew Bergeron
and watch the overreaction from their childish Head Coach. What is he 15 years old? that guy is bordering an emotional adolescent

For the record Love wasn't great but dangit if he didn't go into Atlanta, lead four scoring drives in an ugly offensive struggle bus of a day....without his best four offensive players.

I watched us beat ourselves. There were several key mishaps where we punished ourselves.
1. The QB sneak where we needed 1 foot was an easy one that we showed our inexperience. That’s play gets made by all but 2-3 stinky teams. We stunk that up like a pile of poo poo
2. The Game Clock expiring as we tried a FG? That was either on Rich or Matt I’m not sure which? How do you miss that?? That’s lost Points for not paying attention!

I admire Love's effort throughout the game. The last drive was poor. Not a single guy got open on 4 straight plays?

Actually to be fair,Jordan did hit his receiver on 4th Down and while it wasn’t perfection it was very catchable and our WR didn’t secure it. 1st and 10 from our 38. Keep in mind with Carlson we likely had a 50/50 shot at a Win by making the Opponent 45 yard line. We had :38 sec left and we needed at minimum 17 yards with at minimum 3-4 tries. So I don’t fault Love for that our Receiver HAS to make that catch there.
Also earlier in the game we had a TD in the Corner dropped. Adams or most veterans make that play it was a dime throw. It’s called contested catch and those dropped TD’s are detrimental to Winning or Losing.

 

[AmishMafia]

Actually to be fair,Jordan did hit his receiver on 4th Down and while it wasn’t perfection it was very catchable and our WR didn’t secure it. 1st and 10 from our 36. Keep in mind with Carlson we likely had a 50/50 shot at a Win by making the Opponent 45 yard line. We had :38 sec left and we needed at minimum 20 yards with at minimum 4 tries. I don’t fault Love for that. Also earlier in the game we had a TD in the Corner dropped.

Agreed, it was a tremendous throw. But it had to be because the WR was not open.

 

[OldSchool101]

Agreed, it was a tremendous throw. But it had to be because the WR was not open.

While both were absolutely contested those are the plays that either make you a great Receiver or a mediocre receiver. It’s not Love’s fault he’s working with more average or inexperience.

I have our Defense more at fault here. We got absolutely gashed in the Run game. At some point we have to get that fixed
Atlanta’s had
32 Passes 235 yards
45 Runs 211 yards!
446 yards????

What does that say?? Imo I would’ve ran it 55 times I think Atlanta left some (maybe 50 yards) out there on the field. They should’ve ran for 250+ easy we got a shade below public humiliation

Our D made them look like SB contenders

 

[gopkrs]

I thought the ball was knocked out of his hands.

 

[PackAttack12]

That's unfortunate, because he's has 3 failed tenures as DC, over a span of numerous years, and a random successful 5 week run does not override that.

And LaFleur all but flat out admitted that he forced Barry into strategic and schematic changes down the stretch last season.

Problem is…LaFleur can’t completely babysit Barry and what he does defensively while also allocating a huge chunk of his time to developing a young quarterback.

 

[Pugger]

And LaFleur all but flat out admitted that he forced Barry into strategic and schematic changes down the stretch last season.

Problem is…LaFleur can’t completely babysit Barry and what he does defensively while also allocating a huge chunk of his time to developing a young quarterback.

IMO it is MLF's fault Barry is still running his defense.

 

[OldSchool101]

I thought the ball was knocked out of his hands.

It was. By the ground

 

[BrokenArrow]

Well, a WR or TE I expect to be able to run, discern the coverage, make route adjustment, bring hands up at last possible moment, strectch out, catch the ball with a DB draped over you, and make the reception.

I expect even an average HS level athlete (even girl swimmers), to catch a football when you are standing there and the ball is thrown right to you. Hell, most kids have that mostly mastered by age 10 playing with their Dad in the back yard.

Except these guys aren't trying to catch balls in the back yard with their dad.