Week two: Falcons blowout studs and duds.

[HardRightEdge]

You're right. It shouldn't be but in the last 3 games against the Falcons, this defense has proved they can't handle them.

I think the defense played better than in the last two meetings.

 

[HardRightEdge]

You're right about the turnovers, but Ryan was 13-20 for 201 yards in the 1st half. The only reason he didn't throw for 400 was because the Falcons took their foot off the gas in the 2nd half. I mean, Ryan attempted just 8 passes in the 2nd half for crying out loud. And still and all was 6-8.

So lets not pretend as if the Packers did anything spectacular defensively in the 2nd half to slow them down.

Who said "spectacular"? Just better than where we ended last year with a long season to go. R-e-l-a-x.

 

[azrsx05]

I think the defense played better than in the last two meetings.

When they've played awful the last 2 times. It's not hard to call anything an improvement. But they moved the ball at will. They were chasing Julio at least a step behind. If not for them going conservative, they could've kept piling them up

 

[HardRightEdge]

When they've played awful the last 2 times. It's not hard to call anything an improvement. But they moved the ball at will. They were chasing Julio at least a step behind. If not for them going conservative, they could've kept piling them up

Have a drink. Good night.

 

[PackAttack12]

Who said "spectacular"? Just better than where we ended last year with a long season to go. R-e-l-a-x.

lol. Gave up 44 in the NFCCG, gave up 34 just 8 months later. We're on fire.

I try being as positive as anyone, but tonight proved that not much has changed in the secondary and if we have to go play that team again next January in that stadium, I don't expect for the result to be different. If the Packers aren't able to capture home field advantage, we're in trouble. Especially if Atlanta finishes ahead of us in the standings. And many seem to forget that we needed two 50+ yard field goals and all time great heroics from Aaron Rodgers to even get to Atlanta in the first place.

There's plenty of reason to be concerned.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Duds: Aaron looked off without Jordy. It's got to be a mental thing with him.
Capers ain't figured it out yet.
The injury gods. Hit GB early and often before turning their attention to Atlanta.

Studs: King looked like a keeper.
Monty and Cobb came through.

I hesitate bringing up the refs but the pick play that Allison was flagged on was the same as Atlanta's last 1st half TD. Call it both ways why doncha.

Why hesitate? There's nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. Bogus pick play penalty on Bennett. Then Atlanta has Hooper actually blocking 4 yards beyond the LOS while the ball is being thrown for a TD with no flag. Then Allison gets called for a pick while inadvertently bumping while trying to avoid a defender who cuts off his route costing us a TD. That's called a FIX. We should have had anywhere from 31 - 38 points and Atlanta should have had 27 - 30 points based on the possible outcomes of those 3 plays. What may have happened beyond that is anyone's guess, but considering we were without our tackles and lost Nelson and Daniels, these guys played hard and well enough to win.

Pick plays should be made reviewable because they are not a judgement call. They involve an objective measurement.

 

[rmontro]

Who said "spectacular"? Just better than where we ended last year with a long season to go. R-e-l-a-x.

This team relaxes too much.

 

[BrokenArrow]

That game sucked and was painful to watch, but I'm gonna try and be the optimistic guy.

The Falcons are a good football team who were opening up their brand new stadium, we were missing 4 of our best players, and there were 2 suspect calls that completely changed the game.

It's week 2 and we lost by 11. It's not the end of the world, but it does seem like the Falcons have our # now. I'd prefer not to see them again in the playoffs.

If we had Nelson, Daniels and our two best OL for this whole game, I would say the outcome would have been very different. I hope MM makes a formal complaint about the ******** call on Bennett though. It had a massive effect on the game, not to mention the other two suspect and similar calls.

 

[PackAttack12]

Why hesitate? There's nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. Bogus pick play penalty on Bennett. Then Atlanta has Hooper actually blocking 4 yards beyond the LOS while the ball is being thrown for a TD with no flag. Then Allison gets called for a pick while inadvertently bumping while trying to avoid a defender who cuts off his route costing us a TD. That's called a FIX. We should have had anywhere from 31 - 38 points and Atlanta should have had 27 - 30 points based on the possible outcomes of those 3 plays. What may have happened beyond that is anyone's guess, but considering we were without our tackles and lost Nelson and Daniels, these guys played hard and well enough to win.

Pick plays should be made reviewable because they are not a judgement call. They involve an objective measurement.

Some of the calls were bad, but in a game in which the Packers were down 31-7, I have no interest in blaming the officials for some of the poor play of our team. And if some of you wish to overlook the obvious flaws in our secondary, namely Randall and Rollins, then be my guest. But there were a lot of the same issues tonight as there were 8 months ago. And you can get happy clicking the disagree button all you want to, but that point cannot be disputed.

Could the game have turned out differently if the calls had went our way? Perhaps, but I would much rather prefer to focus on the obvious flaws that our team exhibited that contributed to the loss, as opposed to pointing the finger at the officiating.

The Packers can't do a damn thing about bad calls. But they can certainly focus on getting better. And based on what the team brought tonight, it wasn't good enough.

 

[dbain21]

Studs:
Ty - Didnt think hed look this natural as a runner. Huge improvement from Lacy, and he likes to put his pads down. My biggest bright spot from the game.
Cobb (until injury)
King - Clearly will be our most talented corner with experience
Mike Daniels - For having his absence so clearly felt in the run game

Duds:
Randall
Rollins
Injuries

 

[BrokenArrow]

Some of the calls were bad, but in a game in which the Packers were down 31-7, I have no interest in blaming the officials for some of the poor play of our team. And if some of you wish to overlook the obvious flaws in our secondary, namely Randall and Rollins, then be my guest. But there were a lot of the same issues tonight as there were 8 months ago. And you can get happy clicking the disagree button all you want to, but that point cannot be disputed.

Could the game have turned out differently if the calls had went our way? Perhaps, but I would much rather prefer to focus on the obvious flaws that our team exhibited that contributed to the loss, as opposed to pointing the finger at the officiating.

The Packers can't do a damn thing about bad calls. But they can certainly focus on getting better. And based on what the team brought tonight, it wasn't good enough.

And I suppose you believe not having 4 of our top 10 players didn't have an effect on anything. Yeah right. And I don't believe it was simply bad officiating. What the hell business does the back judge have in calling a pick play when the damn head linesman is standing right there a DOESN'T call it? There's no way in hell the back judge could have seen how far he was or wasn't off the LOS. The braindead ref should have overruled him. Then to not throw yellow on as blatant of an OPI as you'll ever see on a Falcons TD only to come back and call it again against us later in the game? No, that looks a lot more like corrupt officiating. It really looked like the NFL simply wasn't going to have any part of Atlanta possibly losing their first home game at their new side-show attraction of a stadium.

This game was closer than the score would have you believe. And all I hear from people is how much our secondary struggled with their receivers. Well guess what. We handled theirs better than they handled ours. Cobb and Adams had bigger games than Jones and Sanu did. It's way too early for any doom and gloom nonsense. I'm still saying 12-13 wins.

 

[smacker]

Dud was Bennett. Not sure you can really find a stud from this game.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

I think the defense played better than in the last two meetings.

It was difficult seeing them getting gashed by the Falcons' offense but we did get some pressures and a couple of sacks. Whatever the improvement in defense it didn't help that the offense was playing without their starting tackles. Neither of the sides helped each other out.

I wasn't expecting a win, but it was disheartening to see how they played initially.

The offense couldn't get going and they still have no answer for Jones or Sanu...or any of the receivers. Soooo, it we make the playoffs, it's back to Atlanta.

 

[I asked LT to delete my acct]

And I suppose you believe not having 4 of our top 10 players didn't have an effect on anything. Yeah right. And I don't believe it was simply bad officiating. What the hell business does the back judge have in calling a pick play when the damn head linesman is standing right there a DOESN'T call it? There's no way in hell the back judge could have seen how far he was or wasn't off the LOS. The braindead ref should have overruled him. Then to not throw yellow on as blatant of an OPI as you'll ever see on a Falcons TD only to come back and call it again against us later in the game? No, that looks a lot more like corrupt officiating. It really looked like the NFL simply wasn't going to have any part of Atlanta possibly losing their first home game at their new side-show attraction of a stadium.

This game was closer than the score would have you believe. And all I hear from people is how much our secondary struggled with their receivers. Well guess what. We handled theirs better than they handled ours. Cobb and Adams had bigger games than Jones and Sanu did. It's way too early for any doom and gloom nonsense. I'm still saying 12-13 wins.

I was with you until the NFL wouldn't let the Falcons lose it's opening game in their new stadium argument and corrupt official statement. We didn't have the weapons to do it or the weapons to stop them. We were never have a 16 - 0 or even 14 - 2 season.

 

[Mondio]

There were more than a few things to see improvement in the D. We got more pressure and that was without Daniels. Our play on the back half looked much better. The Falcons still have some damn fine players, if you were expecting a shut out you were probably a little off. and 7 of those points came directly from our offense and after a stop on defense and nothing from the Packer offense and then a 3 and out from our defense Rodgers decided to do his Favre impression and just toss one up giving Atlanta a short field. Something you can't do. Then our offense came out and gave the Falcons 7 points in just 2 plays. Not a way to end or start a half of football. Toss in those momentum changers, anyway, we lost.

On to Studs and Duds.

Dud-Rodgers was way off in the first half, looked Favre like at times and some of those hits were all on him. Literally and figuratively.

Bennett for dropping 2,3,4? at least one would have been a 3rd down conversion and was exactly the type pass TE's are known to catch. he can catch it, and now he needs to start. His blocking almost took him off the dud list, but for now he stays. and for everyone clamoring for Cook, he had a drive killing drop on 3rd down in the NFCCG against the Falcons last year too. It's week 2, I expect Bennett and Rodgers to get there.

Ha-Ha Clinton Dix. Still a step late everywhere.

It's hard to find Studs, but there were a lot of strong performances, but I thought Lowery was pushing people back consistently last night. I thought Matthews' presence was pretty noticeable out there. King stepped in nicely. I thought Montgomery played well and Cobb was pretty solid before getting hurt. Though there was one 3rd down conversion with Rodgers rolling right, never saw a replay to see how catchable that was, but he didn't. Initial impression was it should have been, but I'd have to see it again to be sure.

Anyway, on to the Bengals. It was a disappointing loss, but hardly season ending. I was encouraged by better pressure and young guys holding their own. They'll get better. I do not expect Rodgers and the offense to look like this all season. They'll get it together and be fine.

 

[RepStar15]

Duds:
Rodgers
Bennett
Randall
Rollins
Haha
Linsley

Studs:
Blake Martinez
Monty
Kevin King

 

[ls1bob]

I think ST's needs to be looked at,return team in particular. How many punt returns have we had in two games? Davis is calling for a fair catch almost every time. Is blocking THAT bad or the other team's punters THAT good? Same on kickoffs,there must not be any lanes for Janis to through or coaches are telling him to stay put. AND the DB's,almost to a man almost every announcer critiques how much our DB's play off the WR's on the LOS and yet coaches don't correct it. We may have all the pieces on defense but not the people to put the pieces in the right location to fit. Secondary,smh

 

[HardRightEdge]

I try being as positive as anyone....

There is evidence to the contrary.

I see improvement. I also believe, and have believed for quite some time, that a DC change is in order regardless of how the season concludes.

 

[rodell330]

Duds: Randall and Rollins are NOT starting caliber corners. I've never seen any two corners chase as much as these bums. Waste of 1st and 2nd rd picks.

Dom Capers must go plain and simple. The guy just can't do the job here anymore. How many yrs does the defense need to suck for MM to realize that?

It's time to rebuild this defense and go back to a 4-3 scheme.

 

[rodell330]

You're right. It shouldn't be but in the last 3 games against the Falcons, this defense has proved they can't handle them.

That's coaching. If you play a team three times in less than a year, and still can't figure it out? Yea you're slow. Capers just doesn't get it.

 

[PackerDNA]

I think a lot of you aren't paying attention. Healthy or not, refs or not, no difference. The Falcons are what football is now. They play the game at an entirely different level and speed than the Packers. If we see them again, it'll be more of the same.

 

[PackAttack12]

There is evidence to the contrary.

I see improvement. I also believe, and have believed for quite some time, that a DC change is in order regardless of how the season concludes.

I was one of the few voices of reason after the team started off poorly last season when most were jumping off the ledge. I still think the team finishes with a 12 or 13 win season. They are better than most, but if Atlanta rolls out to the #1 seed, I cringe thinking about having to go back there in the playoffs.

 

[Half Empty]

I still believe the pieces are there.

"pieces" being the operative word

 

[Packer Brother]

This team will win the division on the last day. Will struggle to eventually sellout another wild card game. Maybe win a division game on road. Get slaughtered by Atlanta or another hot offense on the road. Fans will cry for a change at D. TT will do nothing.

Sound familiar?

 

[Mark Andrew Hooley]

Same as last time, our Defense couldn't get off the field when we needed to. No matter if it was 3rd and 10 or whatever. It puts so much pressure on the Offense to sustain drives. That said, we obviously had injuries affecting the Offense. I feel confident we could put up 30 plus on this team when healthy. The problem as always is the Defense.
They could have put more up on us if they weren't chewing the clock.

If we see Atlanta in the playoffs then we absolutely need turnovers. King was outstanding. The rest of the secondary were poor though. I still feel 12-4 is realistic for us. Atlanta has a tough division this year and the Panthers twice. Plus the Patriots, Vikings and Cowboys. They also have to play Seattle. We probably need 13 for the 1 seed. I'd say it's only doable if we are 6-1 at the bye. We will see. It's a marathon guys.