Game 9 - Studs and Duds - Pittsburgh

[BrokenArrow]

Jordan Love had 2 chances to win the game and whiffed both times.

He can't do it by himself. Nobody was open on the last play because they had 7 guys defending the endzone. You can't fault him for trying to make something from nothing on the last play. Would you prefer he had thrown it away? taken a sack? run and get tackled at the 5? Drop kick? Punt?

 

[tynimiller]

I've re-watched the broadcast replay, have not broke down the full All-22 yet so take this with that caveat.

STUDS
Jayden Reed - this young man is IMO literally the second coming of a young Randall Cobb. His knack for getting open and make things happen before, during and even if he doesn't get the ball in his hands. Out of all the rookie WRs, only two have more TDs than him - this young man's rookie year has been special so far. FAR FAR too early to know for sure if this is a sign of what is to come or will he like Watson - who also had a MASSIVE drop this year - come down to earth. ATM though this young man is for sure illustrating that he is a weapon teams cannot overlook.
Preston Smith - this veteran wasn't traded and kudos to him that he continues to be a stalwart along this defense despite contention this year not being on the horizon. I think Smith put together some of his best drives of the year in this game and look forward to watching him closer on the All22.
Dontayvion Wicks - again like Reed, while we see Watson regress or simply not be fitting to be a feature of this offense, Wicks is maximizing his time out there constantly. I cannot wait to sit down and watch the All22 because like I've said he is one of the BEST on our team, and typically is THE BEST at getting open. Wicks IMO has shown more quicker in that ability than any single WR has on our team that I can remember. Now could this be slightly inflated due to he got so few snaps early on and still isn't getting a ton...but still, this young man right now almost shows more for the future than many others in that WR room.
Jordan Love - Yup, gonna put him here because he deserves it. Pittsburgh came out and punched us in the face...this young starter strolled out and punched them right back. He never gets overwhelmed, never appears defeated and even following blown plays by others with drops or STUPID moments of not running out of bounds happens his demeanor doesn't change. He had multiple throws today that were elite level.

DUDS
Aaron Jones - one of my favorite Packers and always will be but he is pressing to make things happen. Whether he feels he has to prove he is worth keeping around and not be a cap casualty or whether he is not a 100%....whatever it is there are times where Aaron Jones is not the Aaron Jones we all envision. That drop was one of the worst and the end game decision to run to the middle of the field makes next to no sense for a rookie to do, let alone a veteran stud like Jones.
Joe Barry - Run defense is just terrible. FLAT OUT TERRIBLE.
Jordan Love - I get it, he's in both spots....and I get it QB's are unfairly treated/judged constantly because of their position. However, DESPITE numerous failings that are not HIS fault (run defense sucking, refs blown call stealing 6 points, Joe Barry being Joe Barry, drops throughout the game...) but he still missed some gimmes he just cannot do and also that last ball decision on the surface just appeared to be a bad decision...but I'll admit it could be an opinion of it coming down to I prefer a jump ball or at minimum get a roll out and WRs free lancing for a empty zone somewhere. That was a near impossible play to convert...and it wasn't the fact he failed to convert it, for me it was the selection. All22 could bring clarity and perhaps I change my frustration with this and pull Love down.

 

[PikeBadger]

He was 9 for 70 so take away the 40 and he was 8 for 30 or just under 4 yds per carry. Not great, but not bad. Jones average 2.7 ypc. Take away his longest and it might be sub 2 ypc. He'll, take away Barry Sanders longest run per game and he would look rather average.

Totally agree. It's intellectually dishonest to remove a guy's best play from equation. Every player for every team has a best play and people that use this false argument never acknowledge that fact. It's a weak argument and shows their bias.

 

[PikeBadger]

He can't do it by himself. Nobody was open on the last play because they had 7 guys defending the endzone. You can't fault him for trying to make something from nothing on the last play. Would you prefer he had thrown it away? taken a sack? ran and got tackled at the 5?

Totally agree. Jones put him in that impossible situation with his egregious rookie mental mistake. I knew Love had no chance when I saw the black picket fence set up on the goal line.

 

[gopkrs]

He ran hard all day just like Jones. Don't know why you'd want to take away his best play of the day. You going to take away Reed's best play?

Yes, you have a point. He did drop a pass I believe and w/o the long run he was 8 for 30. The Steelers safties and linebackers were hitting hard and stopping the play dead about 2 or 3 yards after the los. Seemingly on every running play. Can't blame him for that.

 

[AKCheese]

Just watched the disputed backwards pass. I’d have to agree - not enough to overturn. So we get to have the “we actually won feeling” and yet maintain a better draft position. To me this season is about enjoying (hopefully) watching the team improve (hopefully) seeing their potential and certainly enjoying moving on from a sense of entitlement. Saw Rodgers preening around the Jets sideline in his headset last night and I was sooooooooo glad we’ve moved on from that hot mess

 

[PackerRyche]

Biggest dud = the last 3:34 of the first half. Had an excellent chance to double up since we had 2nd half possession coming to us. Got the ball near mid field. Could have milked clock, moved methodically down the field for at least a field goal, maybe a TD. Instead, tried a bomb on 1st down, an anemic run on 2nd down and then I can't remember 3rd down, but it was 3 and out. Punt from mid field. Got a defensive stop and the ball back on our own about 15 yard line with 1:30ish left and a couple of time outs. Two runs, gave up and let the clock run out. Incredible.

 

[Team Ronny]

Honestly had Jones gone out of bounds and saved 20..Love wouldn't have had to rush that throw as he could have had 2 or 3 shots at the end zone.

 

[tynimiller]

Honestly had Jones gone out of bounds and saved 20..Love wouldn't have had to rush that throw as he could have had 2 or 3 shots at the end zone.

I think minimum it's a FG attempt for OT worst case if Jones doesn't do whatever he thought he was doing.

(clearly drunk when typed LOL...I was combining the Deguara autrocious mistake and thinking let's say that didn't happen and then this....)

 

[El Guapo]

They were competitive on the road and we didnt hurt our draft position

This was my overall takeaway from the game. We were competitive, had a chance at the end, and did some things better (some worse). I am fine with losing a game like this.

Dud: Deguera..missed block on extra point..leading to blocked pat..cost them the game.

Not only did Deguera miss the block, what I noticed is that he was still sitting in his stance when Peterson was already running by him. It's like he had no clue that the ball had been snapped.

...and then running to the middle of the field for no gain instead of sprinting for the sideline. Cost the Packers over 20 seconds on the clock. Love would've had 4 plays from the 16 at the end instead of just 1. Rookie mistake by a 7 yr vet leader.

We were screaming at the television. That was one of the most bone-headed plays that I've seen out of him. The reality is that we still probably wouldn't have won the game, but to not even have a good chance was painful.

He was 9 for 70 so take away the 40 and he was 8 for 30 or just under 4 yds per carry. Not great, but not bad. Jones average 2.7 ypc. Take away his longest and it might be sub 2 ypc. He'll, take away Barry Sanders longest run per game and he would look rather average.

Let's also remember that AJ Dillon is best running straight into the DL while Jones is best bouncing it to the outside or on stretch plays. Dillon should have a lower YPC average based on the type of runner that he is and the plays that he normally gets - blasting into the heart of the defense. That doesn't absolve him from gaining yards, but should factor into a pure analysis of yards per carry.

 

[Team Ronny]

Last season Watson was supposed to be the savior of this offense. They sucked when he was out. He came back and they were ok with him back. It seems like he doesn't get as many opportunities this year, the end around and wr screens don't seem to be going his way as much.

 

[El Guapo]

I think minimum it's a FG attempt for OT worst case if Jones doesn't do whatever he thought he was doing.

My brain is sorting through the brandy old fashioneds, but I believe that we were down by four points. A field goal wouldn't have tied the game.

 

[milani]

Anyone ignoring these facts is too far buried in the sand to worry about.

Many of the folks that were screaming this was a quick and for sure L; won't even acknowledge the fact we just went on the road, put up 400 yards, Love made some freaking amazing touch deep balls, Love until the last throw hadn't made any terrible decisions (even the tipped INT was not a terrible decision and wasn't even a terribly thrown ball considering you were throwing it to a physical freak and gave him a chance to make a play).

I fail to understand the 2iDL call as well....we have some quicker smaller type guys like Brooks and even LVN....reduce LVN inside if nothing else and give the defense three down with one being a hybrid type AT LEAST.

Obviously, we see some good things and a lot of potential. And we lost 5 of 6 of which some or all were quite winnable. Inexperience and sub par coaching can easily explain why those are defeats. We did reduce our penalties to 5 this week. MLF still has to learn how to be a move the chain offense. His first 3 seasons he relied on the offensive talent to hit one big play on a drive and then go from there. When you need 2,3, or 5 yards for a first down do not think of going long for a TD although you can send someone there as a decoy in case of blown coverage. The old high powered Viking offenses sent Randy Moss down the field forcing a CB and a safety to try and keep up. But most of the time they dumped off a short one to a back or TE and it frustrated defenses. And we do have a QB who can escape and pick up a first down instead of taking a 50-50 throw into coverage with receivers who are not know for sure handedness.

 

[tynimiller]

My brain is sorting through the brandy old fashioneds, but I believe that we were down by four points. A field goal wouldn't have tied the game.

LOL sorry in my mind I connected the bonehead Deguara mistake and the discussion at hand. Clearly I am still recovering as well LOL

 

[Schultz]

He was 9 for 70 so take away the 40 and he was 8 for 30 or just under 4 yds per carry. Not great, but not bad. Jones average 2.7 ypc. Take away his longest and it might be sub 2 ypc. He'll, take away Barry Sanders longest run per game and he would look rather average.

Barry Sanders and average should never be in the same sentence. IMO.

 

[tynimiller]

Barry Sanders and average should never be in the same sentence. IMO.

I love Amish, but I gotta concur with Schultz....and I'll even say when discussing or typing anything on Sanders, the word average shouldn't even be in the same paragraph at all, whether directed him or even another. LOL

 

[AmishMafia]

Barry Sanders and average should never be in the same sentence. IMO.

I love Amish, but I gotta concur with Schultz....and I'll even say when discussing or typing anything on Sanders, the word average shouldn't even be in the same paragraph at all, whether directed him or even another. LOL

You both just wrote sentences with Sanders and Average in them.

 

[milani]

He can't do it by himself. Nobody was open on the last play because they had 7 guys defending the endzone. You can't fault him for trying to make something from nothing on the last play. Would you prefer he had thrown it away? taken a sack? ran and got tackled at the 5? Drop kick? Punt?

There was nothing really there. Tomlin called a timeout, planned his defense, and executed. It would have taken one of those Owens caught it catches in a crowd or a leaping Adams catch in the corner of the end zone. And those are low %. What we needed was another 45-60 seconds and a timeout to use all 4 plays to get in the end zone. The series before was the crucial one. MLF did not want to play for the FG because he knew the Steelers may be able to move down the field and run out the clock. So he took a shot for the corner instead of trying to get another 1st down around the 5. Last week we were able to overcome mistakes because the Rams were so feeble. This week one blocked PAT was enough to spell doom.

 

[tynimiller]

You both just wrote sentences with Sanders and Average in them.

Oh my word, you EVIL EVIL GENIUS YOU!!!!! LOL

 

[PikeBadger]

Honestly had Jones gone out of bounds and saved 20..Love wouldn't have had to rush that throw as he could have had 2 or 3 shots at the end zone.

He also wouldn't have seen that picket fence of Steelers. He would have had time to go for 7-8 yards on 1st play against probably a 2 deep defense.

 

[Team Ronny]

It's almost like our coaches are coaching like rookies. No wonder why this team plays the way the do. Every team that plays us the rest of the way is going to run all over us. Pickett is a terrible qb..but they never really made him throw it much..well until the 2nd half. By then the damage was done.
Joe Barry is a clueless *** clown! That 2 down linemen look is just plain stupid..especially in running situations!!

 

[mradtke66]

Not only did Deguera miss the block, what I noticed is that he was still sitting in his stance when Peterson was already running by him. It's like he had no clue that the ball had been snapped.

I heard this one was on the longsnapper. I snapped to early.

What I read (currently looking for the article) was the Packers noticed the Steelers were over-eager on jumping the snap on field goals/extra points. Leading up to this week, they practiced some kind of dummy signal to see if they could get the Steelers to jump early. If it works, cool, free 5 yards. If it doesn't, you've at least got them thinking and maybe they can't come as hard the rest of the game. On to the try, Deguera cannot see the snap. The snap happens, on what he understands to be the dummy call. He doesn't move, because the ball should still be on the LOS. Error was on the snapper.

This of course presumes the article I found is accurate.

 

[Poppa San]

Jordan Love had 2 chances to win the game and whiffed both times.

2 tries? Maybe should have kicked the FG the first time so you only needed one to win it.

 

[BrokenArrow]

There was nothing really there. Tomlin called a timeout, planned his defense, and executed. It would have taken one of those Owens caught it catches in a crowd or a leaping Adams catch in the corner of the end zone. And those are low %. What we needed was another 45-60 seconds and a timeout to use all 4 plays to get in the end zone. The series before was the crucial one. MLF did not want to play for the FG because he knew the Steelers may be able to move down the field and run out the clock. So he took a shot for the corner instead of trying to get another 1st down around the 5. Last week we were able to overcome mistakes because the Rams were so feeble. This week one blocked PAT was enough to spell doom.

The refs taking away a defensive TD didn't help either. Forward pass my as$!

 

[tynimiller]

I heard this one was on the longsnapper. I snapped to early.

What I read (currently looking for the article) was the Packers noticed the Steelers were over-eager on jumping the snap on field goals/extra points. Leading up to this week, they practiced some kind of dummy signal to see if they could get the Steelers to jump early. If it works, cool, free 5 yards. If it doesn't, you've at least got them thinking and maybe they can't come as hard the rest of the game. On to the try, Deguera cannot see the snap. The snap happens, on what he understands to be the dummy call. He doesn't move, because the ball should still be on the LOS. Error was on the snapper.

This of course presumes the article I found is accurate.

Given MLF and what he said in his post game and watching that play I tend to believe it...Deguara wasn't the only blocker that failed to move for a long time.