I found it very difficult to label anyone a "stud" or "dud"for the entire game, so here are just my post-game thoughts, good, bad, or indifferent.
First of all, Rodgers was insane in the final 4 minutes or so. Some of those throws were near impossible. I've come to expect it, but wow. King finally made a big play too, that was cool.
That being said, this win was total fool's gold. When you need your quarterback to make damn near impossible throws to come back and win against a 1-4 team at home to salvage your season you are just bad. The most notable, borderline scary, problem? Both the offensive and defensive lines were utterly manhandled at the point of attack for the majority of this game. This was so blatantly apparent, and is our most concerning issue going forward. Every single play, protection is just completely collapsing. Immediately collapsing. I was scared for Rodgers, to be honest. On defense it was more of the same. They were breaking off runs of 8, 10, 15, or whatever with relative ease and routinely. Beathard had an eternity to throw, and when we manufactured pressure with the blitz he absolutely torched us. Football teams are built from within, and I don't care who else you have, the game starts up front. To be physically dominated on both the offensive and defensive line, at the point of attack, basically the entire night, was alarming and even borderline scary.
The play-calling, meanwhile, still leaves a lot to be desired. First and foremost, that double reverse, Montgomery to Adams, needs to be taken out back and shot. Burned. Destroyed. Never even think of calling that again. Although, it was hard to tell what would have transpired on that play had we been able to block ANYONE. Secondly, enough of these stupid WR bubble screens, especially when THEY ARE PLAYING PRESS MAN COVERAGE. I mean, come on, that play to Adams had ZERO CHANCE. None. THESE PLAYS KILL DRIVES. Stop it with the cute, dumb *** trickery. Just run actual routes when they try to take you at the line like that, especially Davante. And speaking of running, don't give up on Jones so damn early. His very first carry of the game (shocked that got called short) was explosive. Granted, he made a few key errors (drop, missed block), but good things still happen when he carries the ball. Honestly, I think he is the key to this entire offense. Rodgers's stats off play-action were nuts, and I think that had a lot to do with the mere threat of AJones. There were so many instances where we started a drive and I just thought, "OK, McCarthy, run with Jones on 1st and 10 here and go from there." We need to run him, be patient, keep it simple, and everything will else will come. Some screens? Play-action? Maybe a flea flicker? Is that still a thing? None of this complication for the sake of complication. Of course, this is very difficult when you cannot block to save your life. Finally, the fourth-down endzone throw to MVS was a very low percentage play. Whether it was PI or not, you need two freaking yards. Keep it simple. Davante was open. Yes, we want them to be more creative, but not just for the sake of complication. Do stuff that works. High percentage stuff. Also, letting the play clock run down nearly to zero every single play and burning timeouts for nothing is growing exceedingly frustrating.
The defense still sucks. Not much to say about it other than Perry having some nice knocked down passes and Martinez having some great tackles. The pass rush is nonexistent and the coverage is spotty. This defense is SEVERAL big playmakers, especially a pass rusher, away from being any good at all. They obviously stepped up late, but otherwise, what I witnessed was horrifying. Brice continues to be an abject disaster.
All in all, the Niners are better than I thought and it was a thrilling win that makes the games we have going forward actually have meaning. I'm just thankful for Rodgers's late-game magic (and Crosby's redemption) because I get to watch more meaningful Packers games. We at least have something to root for. However, this win did not inspire confidence in any way at all. In fact, it just affirmed what I have concluded so far: This team is extraordinarily mediocre.
That said, can't wait to root for them to get healthy and pull the upset in two weeks. But the prospect of Donald against this line? Terrifying.
Go Pack Go!
Edit: Credit where credit is due, there are two studs tonight: Mason Crosby for bouncing back and Davante F**king Adams for being an absolute baller week in and week out.
