***Official Green Bay Packers Thread***

[TwoStep2888]

Ty Montgomery had two dumb penalties last night, but he also had some great plays and a TD, I think he'll be an asset.

[jaking1185]

I was thinking about this today:

Back when Favre was winning MVP's and a Super Bowl we were privileged to be watching one of the best QB's in NFL history. At that time there was no way I could have imagined that his successor would turn out to be even better.

I can honestly say that we have never seen a QB with Aaron Rodgers' combination of physical and mental abilities in the history of the NFL. On Monday night I again was amazed at how calm he was in the pocket with blitzers all around him. He would stand like a statue and then make a quick move to one side or the other and throw a dart to someone.

James Jones was a twice released player this season, and he comes back to Green Bay and he's working on a Pro Bowl season so far. At some point people are going to stop talking about all the talented receivers around Aaron and realize he is the reason for the success of the passing game. How many different QB coaches and coordinators have come and gone and he keeps chugging along without missing a beat.

I'm not going to get into a silly argument with fans of other teams (you know who) who are always talking about their QB being the GOAT. I think they do that more to keep their thin skins in one piece. All I know is that I will appreciate Aaron for as long as we have him.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by jaking1185

I was thinking about this today:



Back when Favre was winning MVP's and a Super Bowl we were privileged to be watching one of the best QB's in NFL history. At that time there was no way I could have imagined that his successor would turn out to be even better.



I can honestly say that we have never seen a QB with Aaron Rodgers' combination of physical and mental abilities in the history of the NFL. On Monday night I again was amazed at how calm he was in the pocket with blitzers all around him. He would stand like a statue and then make a quick move to one side or the other and throw a dart to someone.



James Jones was a twice released player this season, and he comes back to Green Bay and he's working on a Pro Bowl season so far. At some point people are going to stop talking about all the talented receivers around Aaron and realize he is the reason for the success of the passing game. How many different QB coaches and coordinators have come and gone and he keeps chugging along without missing a beat.



I'm not going to get into a silly argument with fans of other teams (you know who) who are always talking about their QB being the GOAT. I think they do that more to keep their thin skins in one piece. All I know is that I will appreciate Aaron for as long as we have him.

Well said. There's no real argument. Rodgers is pretty much a once in a lifetime player. All we can hope for is that he stays a Packer forever, and stays healthy!

[jaking1185]

RIP to Lindy Infante, the coach who brought us out of the dark ages.

[sbuzzz]

Originally Posted by jaking1185

RIP to Lindy Infante, the coach who brought us out of the dark ages.

89 was a great year.

[TwoStep2888]

RIP Lindy

[TwoStep2888]

Ugly wins like that build character. I think this team is built for adversity. 5-0.

[jaking1185]

That was a great D they were up against and they survived. Aaron looked human today but they still held on. The D has really come on in the last few weeks.

[TwoStep2888]

Packers Injury Updates: Lang should start week 6, Cobb's shoulder will be an issue all year

By Evan "Tex" Western | @TexWestern on Oct 16, 2015, 10:30a

Green Bay fans can breathe easier - Mike McCarthy expects the offensive line to remain intact for this week's game.

Apparently, the Green Bay Packers' injured players are continuing to progress ahead of schedule this week.

In his typical Friday press conference, head coach Mike McCarthy addressed the glut of injuries that have hit the team hard lately. Two players in particular got some special mention from the coach regarding their work in practice on Thursday. First, he addressed injuries in general, though:

With both Adams and Burnett being listed as Limited in both practices this week, their status remains up in the air for the game against the Chargers. However, indications are that the Packers won't hold anyone back this week just because the bye week is on the horizon.

One surprise addition to the injury report on Thursday was Datone Jones, who showed up with a "did not practice" status, but it was deemed not injury related. When asked about the reason for Jones' absence, McCarthy did not elaborate but simply said that it was "a very positive personal moment." Update: it was later confirmed that Jones' wife gave birth to their first child on Thursday.

Perhaps the best news in McCarthy's presser related to right guard T.J. Lang, however. McCarthy said "We're definitely headed that way" when asked if Lang would start on Sunday, a good sign that the Packers should have their full line together again this Sunday.

Randall Cobb, however, could be limited by the shoulder injury that he suffered this preseason all year long. When asked if it would be an issue throughout the rest of the season, Cobb told ESPN's Rob Demovsky on Thursday "I think it's a possibility it could be." Still, Cobb was a full participant in practice on Wednesday (though he went down to limited on Thursday when the team practiced in pads) and he's unlikely to miss any game action.

Both Nick Perry and B.J. Raji missed Thursday's practice, however, and though Perry was all but ruled out earlier this week, it seems Raji will be challenged to play. We should know more when the team's Friday injury report is released this afternoon.

http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/20...-cobb-shoulder

[kydmb99]

Really hope your fat RB does something this week

[TwoStep2888]

I hope so too, not sure how good SD's run D is but I hope we can establish some run

[jaking1185]

Tough game. Defense needed this wake-up call because they were getting too full of themselves. a 500 yard shredding by Rivers? Sheesh.

6-0 into the bye week.

[Timebomb07]

Agree, defense needed a game like that. Would love to understand wtf is going on with Lacy... Is MM just running with the hot hand? Is Lacy nursing something? We need to get that going ASAP - keeps us balanced and keeps the ball with us. These quick scores and quick punts are not going to bode well down the stretch if our defense starts slacking (I don't think it will).

5 of our last 10 are division games. Basically a lock to win at least 11. Feels good.

[TwoStep2888]

interesting read from this week's "Cliff's Notes" feature on Packers.com:

My first year as a Packers fan was 1965. I was 9. The Packers wound up beating Jim Brown and Cleveland for the championship, but they almost didn't get to the title game because Vince Lombardi's celebrated offensive machine went through a mid-season slump. What happened?

Yes, there was a four-game stretch where the Packers scored 13, 10, 7 and 6 points. And forgive me, but here's the complete blow-by-blow. Thanks to their stifling defense, the Packers split the four games. But the offense sputtered much of the year and finished 12th in total yards in what was then a 14-team NFL. The second-to-last weekend of the season, the Packers went to Baltimore and had to win to avoid elimination. The Colts were 9-2-1; the Packers, 9-3. But before we go there let's backtrack to 1964. That was the year the Packers finished out of the running at 8-5-1 and ended the season with an ugly loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in another Playoff, or "Runner-up," Bowl at the Orange Bowl. Lombardi was furious with the Packers' performance and ranted that it was "a hinky-dink game, held in a hinky-dink town, played by hinky-dink players." What's more, the Packers were getting old. Close to 15 starters were 30 or going to turn 30 by the next season. If they weren't a team in decline, they certainly needed a makeover. Lombardi shook up his roster during the offseason, but the changes left him with a team in transition that didn't always look good even when it won. For example, the '65 Packers beat Pittsburgh, 41-9, in their opener and players talked about being "flat" and "sluggish" on offense. Two weeks later, the Packers beat the Bears, 23-14, and an unimpressed Lombardi blew his stack. He evicted several reporters from the dressing room area and balked at fulfilling his obligation to appear for a network television interview. Two weeks later with Forrest Gregg and Ray Nitschke sidelined with injuries, the Packers rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit to beat Detroit, 31-21, and all was good. Lombardi said Bart Starr was off to his best start ever and praised his offensive line for playing especially well. The following week the Packers improved to 6-0 by beating Dallas, 13-3, but they had only seven first downs and gained a mere 63 yards. Once again, a win left Lombardi in a foul mood. Asked about his team's offensive struggles, he snapped, "I don't give a damn about statistics, as long as we win." The Packers' offensive woes were further exposed on Oct. 31 when they lost their first game, 31-10, to the Bears. Nagging injuries were part of their problem. But Lombardi had revamped his offensive line, inserting Steve Wright at right tackle and moving Forrest Gregg to left guard, and that wasn't working. The running game, which had never ranked lower than third in Lombardi's first six seasons, plunged to 10th that year. After five straight 1,000-yard seasons, Taylor had turned 30 and his rushing total dropped to 734 with a 3.5 average. The pass blocking was sub-par at times, but Starr also was being criticized for not evading the rush. He would be sacked 34 times for 303 yards in losses that season after being sacked 42 times the previous year. The low point came on Nov. 7 when the Lions manhandled the Packers, 12-7, on a cloudy, 44-degree day at Lambeau Field. Starr was sacked 11 times for 109 yards in losses. "It looked like he was stuck in the mud back there a couple times, although we didn't give him any protection whatsoever," Lombardi fumed in his postgame press conference. Unhappy with Jerry Kramer's play in the loss to the Bears the previous week, Lombardi had benched him, according to the Press-Gazette, and moved Gregg from left guard to right guard to face Alex Karras, according to an assistant coach. Obviously, the shakeup didn't produce the desired results, but it would still be another month before Lombardi reinserted Fuzzy Thurston as the starting left guard and moved Gregg back to right tackle. In the meantime, the Packers split two games with the last-place L.A. Rams, winning 6-3 and losing 21-10. The tide finally turned in Week 12. The Packers beat Minnesota and gained a game on the Colts, who not only lost to the Bears but also lost Johnny Unitas, the league's reigning MVP, with a season-ending knee injury. That set up the showdown in Baltimore. On Thursday, the Packers learned that Paul Hornung would likely return to the lineup after missing two of the previous three games. Three days later, in a dense fog in old Memorial Stadium, Hornung scored five TDs and accounted for 176 yards of offense as the Packers rolled to a 42-27 victory. "A great pressure player," Lombardi gushed after the game. However, typical of the season, defender Dave Robinson made the biggest play of all: An 87-yard interception return that turned what might have been a six-point halftime deficit into a 21-13 lead. Now in control of their own destiny, the Packers stumbled again in their final regular-season game. They blew a lead in the final 67 seconds at San Francisco, settled for a 24-24 tie and finished, 10-3-1, necessitating a playoff with the Colts for the Western Conference crown. With halfback Tom Matte playing quarterback, the Colts fell to the Packers for the third time that season, 13-10, in overtime and as the result of a controversial field goal. In the NFL championship, the Packers beat the Browns, 23-12, as Hornung rushed for 105 yards and Taylor, 96. Lombardi proudly proclaimed in the locker room, "This team has more character than any other team I've had."

http://www.packers.com/news-and-even...8-7bda1fd64a82

[jaking1185]

That's a good read. You never think about those Lombardi teams as being human.

[TwoStep2888]

and speaking of offensive slumps, while it may seem our offense is struggling this year, we're actually outperforming 2014:

Comparing the 2015 Packers' offense to the 2014 edition

By Evan "Tex" Western | @TexWestern on Oct 23, 2015, 2:00p

We look at individual stats to compare the Packers' first six games in 2014 to their start here in the 2015 season, and we see cause for optimism rather than frustration.

Discussion about the Green Bay Packers' offense over the past few weeks started me thinking this afternoon: how does the Packers' current offense, which has struggled somewhat of late and appears to be less explosive than it was a year ago, compare to the unit that took the field in 2014 and helped earn Aaron Rodgers his second MVP award?

All the numbers put forth below are comparing the performance over the first six games of the 2014 season, over which the Packers went 4-2, to the team's 6-0 start here in 2015. What we find might surprise you a bit.



Aaron Rodgers

2014: 122-189 (64.6%), 1,419 yards, 15 touchdowns, 1 interception, 111.4 passer rating. 14 rushes, 70 yards (5 YPC)
2015: 124-182 (68.1%), 1,491 yards, 15 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 115.9 passer rating. 29 rushes, 160 yards (5.5 YPC)

It's rather astounding just how similar Rodgers' passing numbers are this season to what they were last year. He is very nearly identical in every category - perhaps a bit of a surprise considering the Packers' struggles on offense over the past few weeks. However, Rodgers did have less-than-stellar games last year against the Seahawks and Lions. Also taking away from his numbers in 2014 was the fact that he sat out most of the second half of the week 5 game against Minnesota, which the Packers won 42-10.

What is noticeably different here is Rodgers' rushing numbers, as he has doubled his production on the ground from a year ago. Whether it's a conscious effort to run more or it's because he's taking off when his receivers aren't getting open, it's something to keep an eye on.



Eddie Lacy

2014: 80 carries. 306 yards (3.8 YPC), 3 TDs. 12 targets, 10 receptions, 76 yards.
2015: 67 carries, 260 yards (3.9 YPC), 1 TD. 12 targets, 9 receptions, 83 yards.

Believe it or not, Lacy's production this year isn't that far off his 2014 numbers, either. He has historically gotten off to slow starts anyway though, with that aforementioned Vikings game being the only one in which he topped 50 yards on the ground through the first six weeks of 2014. This year, he has done that twice, but also has a pair of games in which he received fewer than five carries apiece.



James Starks

2014: 35 carries, 152 yards (4.3 YPC). 11 targets, 6 receptions, 24 yards.
2015: 63 carries, 286 yards (4.5 YPC), 1 TD. 15 targets, 11 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD.

Starks' strong play this year is one of the reasons that the offense actually has 250 more total yards than it did at this point a year ago - in fact, the increase in rushing yards from him and Rodgers make up most of that difference on their own. Starks looks like he's back to 2013 form after a down year in 2014, and he has filled in admirably for Lacy when called into action against Seattle and San Diego.



Randall Cobb

2014: 41 targets, 29 receptions, 331 yards (11.4 YPR), 7 TDs. 3 carries, 7 yards.
2015: 47 targets, 30 receptions, 350 yards (11.7 YPR), 4 TDs. 1 carry, 12 yards.

Surprise, surprise: Cobb's receiving numbers are eerily similar to last year's as well, with one exception - some of those red zone touchdowns that he racked up in 2014 have gone over to other players like James Jones and Richard Rodgers instead. That bum shoulder hasn't affected Cobb's production much, though his target load has dropped a bit over the past two weeks.



James Jones/Jordy Nelson

This might not be a fair comparison, but we'll look at the Packers' primary outside receiver opposite Cobb for each of the past two years to see how they compare.

Nelson 2014: 68 targets, 43 receptions, 632 yards (14.7 YPR), 5 TDs
Jones 2015: 29 targets, 21 receptions, 424 yards (20.2 YPR), 6 TDs

It's surprising to see Jones racking up more big plays than Nelson - after all, Jordy was the master of the double-move on play action last year and had a pair of scores from 66 or more yards early on last year (and five total from 50+ during the whole season). However, Jordy was a frequent target on third downs as well (look at that average - over 11 targets per game early on in 2014), and Rodgers has been throwing to other players this season rather than locking in on a single player as much as he did with Nelson a year ago.

Case in point: Richard Rodgers had only 30 targets during the entire 2014 regular season (and just four in the first six games), but he has 30 already so far in 2015. Even adding in Andrew Quarless' 18 targets from the first six games of 2014, Rodgers still exceeds the tight ends' targets by more than one per game (30 to 22).



Team Offense

2014: 161 points, 1,915 total yards: 1,346 passing, 569 rushing
2015: 164 points. 2,185 total yards: 1,421 passing, 764 rushing

Yes, the Packers' offense as a whole has functioned better and scored more points so far in 2015 than they did a year ago.

All of this leads to one conclusion in my mind: the Packers are just fine at this point, and they should only get better when injured players like Lacy and Davante Adams return from injury. They are getting more production from their tight end and backup running back, while in large part are maintaining the rest of their numbers from other players.

In short, Aaron Rodgers and company are just fine. The consistency on offense from last year to this year means that an improved defense is likely the main reason why the team is 6-0 instead of 4-2 at this point in the season.

http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/20...e-2014-edition

[Nvetta]

Very interesting

[TwoStep2888]

it'll be interesting to see what (if anything) changes after a loss like that

[TwoStep2888]

Thomas shows what Packers miss without Nelson

Ryan Wood, Press-Gazette Media 12:57 a.m. EST November 2, 2015

DENVER – The tale of the tape wouldn't be kind. Demaryius Thomas, standing 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, towered over the Green Bay Packers secondary Sunday night. Casey Hayward? Damarious Randall? They were overmatched against the Denver Broncos receiver.

Thomas was a one-man offense, an unstoppable force. He was something of a miracle worker, too. The Pro Bowl receiver did what seemed impossible, turning the clock back for quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw 340 passing yards in the Broncos 29-10 win at Sports Authority Field.

Thomas had 168 of those yards – almost exactly half. How dominant were his eight catches on 11 targets? Thomas had more receiving yards than the rest of the Broncos' wide outs combined. By himself, he also had more than double Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' 77 passing yards.

"Oh, man, he's a good player," Hayward said at his locker afterward. "He's a big guy. Hell of a player. Coming off a bye, we knew they were going to have some wrinkles and things there. Overall, he's one of the top five receivers, if you want to rank them. No certain ranks – no one through five – but he's one of the better receivers."

Hayward, no doubt unlucky, was first to line up across Thomas on Sunday. That's about all he did. Thomas, consistently wide open, had four catches for 101 yards in the Broncos first four possessions. He beat Hayward deep. He beat Hayward underneath. He beat Hayward even when he was covered.

About the only thing Thomas didn't do was find the end zone.

"He's big, fast," Hayward said. "He can run the route tree, and he's hard to tackle after the catch. He has one of the greatest quarterbacks throwing to him, and he also has a complementary guy in (Emmanuel) Sanders. When you have those things going for you, it's going to be hard to stop. You can watch film and see some other people slowing him down, but he's going to be hard to stop a whole game."

Big. Fast. Hard to tackle. In another year, those would be attributes handed to the Packers' own star receiver. On Sunday, Thomas showed the Packers what they're missing with Jordy Nelson out with a torn ACL this season.

While Thomas dominated, the Packers offense looked like it was in a compressor. They couldn't stretch the field, couldn't turn to their "shot" plays, and the Broncos' ferocious defense knew it. With no threat of a vertical passing game, the Broncos were content to sit on routes. They smothered Packers receivers like a blanket extinguishing a fire.

A "good amount," Rodgers said, he looked downfield only to find covered receivers. Even when he completed passes, explosive plays were missing. Randall Cobb was the Packers' leading receiver with six catches, just two fewer than Thomas. He had only 27 yards.

Thomas averaged 21 yards per catch, his longest 47 yards.

"I thought I pressed him pretty good at the line," Hayward said of the deep pass to Thomas. "I was good down the field – maybe at the 20 – and he got separation, a little bump. But, you know, that's how it happens playing defensive back and wide receiver. You have to play through some of the bumps and things like that, but sometimes you're going to get caught on sometimes like that."

With a shoulder injury knocking top corner Sam Shields out of the game early, the Packers were limited with how they could adjust in the second half. They turned to Randall, a bigger cornerback, to try to handle Thomas' physicality.

Rollins allowed less separation, but the result was the same.

Perhaps Thomas' most difficult catch of the night came in the third quarter. The Broncos, their lead only a touchdown, faced a third-and-8 from their own 22-yard line. They needed to swing momentum back in their favor.

Manning threw to Thomas on the right sideline. He was heavily covered, but turned at the last moment. Randall couldn't react fast enough, and Thomas had a 20-yard catch to extend the drive. The Broncos went on to score a touchdown, pulling away.

"Big, fast, and you've got Peyton Manning throwing you the ball," Randall said. "They just won some one-on-one matchups."

Randall sat at his locker after the game, still wearing part of his uniform. He looked stunned, eyes wide. "Talk about your pick against Peyton Manning," safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix told him, slapping the rookie on his shoulder, trying to cheer him up. Yes, Randall left Denver with a souvenir, intercepting the future hall of fame quarterback in the fourth quarter.

No, it didn't matter.

The Packers have now allowed 843 passing yards in their past two games. They've come against Manning and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, two of the NFL's best passers. For a team that fancies itself a Super Bowl contender, its inability to defend top-tier passers is troubling.

"It's frustrating a little bit," Hayward said, "but the game before we stopped them from scoring. This week, we didn't stop them from scoring. If we could've stopped them from scoring, it wouldn't have been as big of a deal. We didn't stop them from scoring, they had a lot of passing yards, and they played good tonight. We went against one of the top teams in the league."

They have one of the best receivers in the NFL, too. On Sunday, Thomas was everything the Packers can't replace without Nelson.

rwood@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ByRyanWood

http://www.packersnews.com/story/spo...lson/74993558/

[AJF_41]

vikes sneaking up behind you guys

i didn't watch the game last night
what happened twostep?

[TwoStep2888]

Denver D real good, Packers D real bad

Broncos got pressure on every play, coverage locked down GB receivers — no one could get open

meanwhile Packers D couldn't touch Manning or cover anyone, and two of our DBs went down with shoulder injuries

Aaron was rattled (he hasn't looked himself the last few weeks), nothing worked, our best player of the night was our punter

[TwoStep2888]

with my 47,000th post on this web forum, I say: go Packers

I also boldly declare that we will rebound from this ugly 6-1 start — we may even make the playoffs!

[antsmarching777]

Back to back games giving up 500+ yards and then give up 400+ yards of total offense. How many lives does Capers have? #melted

[jaking1185]

How Capers still has a job confuses me no end. Everything he does is old and outdated.

[TwoStep2888]

Capers will be in Green Bay until he is dead and I, too, will be dead.

[TwoStep2888]

offensive line was the biggest mess today, which is weird b/c it's the same players that comprised a top 5 OL last season

[jaking1185]

I thought this year McCarthy was giving up play-calling so he could focus on whole team. Seems to be regression in all aspects of the team. Maybe he is the problem. Too slow to change or adapt.

[dklein]

New to this thread. Live in TN but Pack have been my team since 1996. I must say I thought Cobb would be a star this year without Nelson, but he hasn't been too productive this year. He had a decent day today with that long TD, but what's up with the defense? Thought they'd be better this year. Schedule does get a little easier, so that will be good.

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[jaking1185]

Originally Posted by dklein

New to this thread. Live in TN but Pack have been my team since 1996. I must say I thought Cobb would be a star this year without Nelson, but he hasn't been too productive this year. He had a decent day today with that long TD, but what's up with the defense? Thought they'd be better this year. Schedule does get a little easier, so that will be good.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Welcome. I agree Cobb has not stepped up. Don't think he's capable of being a #1 receiver. Having all the rest of the receivers dinged up hasn't helped either. Nelson is missed dearly.

Defense started to believe all their hype but the last 3 weeks have shown their true colors. I've been hoping Dom Capers would have gotten fired for at least 3 years now. Not sure what he has on someone to keep his job.

[dklein]

Originally Posted by jaking1185

Welcome. I agree Cobb has not stepped up. Don't think he's capable of being a #1 receiver. Having all the rest of the receivers dinged up hasn't helped either. Nelson is missed dearly.

Defense started to believe all their hype but the last 3 weeks have shown their true colors. I've been hoping Dom Capers would have gotten fired for at least 3 years now. Not sure what he has on someone to keep his job.

Thanks. I live in the same city, Alcoa, TN, that Cobb played for in high school. I sometimes cover Alcoa high school football games for a local paper, and they show Cobb highlights of green bay games during timeouts on a jumbotron. he has hosted free football camps for kids here in Alcoa.

Very cool of him to give back to where he came from.

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