My Take -> Week 3

Greetings, G-Force.

1-0-1. If, as you’re reading this blog post, you feel like all of my writing grace is lost, well you’re probably right. For today, I have emotion and I’ve tossed all elegance straight to the ditch. Intentionally. I wanted this one. We had it. Our defense had made the play. Not once, but twice! An odd sensation came over me as I was thinking who are these Green Bay Packers? A team that wins with defense and special teams? Until, suddenly, in painstaking, gutting fashion, victory was ripped away by a horrendous officiating decision. Plainly: The NFL cheated the Packers out of a 2-0 start. The Packers were robbed, man. There is no other way to put it.

With ambitious hearts, Packers fans could taste a 2-0 start. Unified. Until, once again, the Packers franchise met what felt like a strong moment of darkness. The pain was ever so present at the end of regulation. The 80+ degree light shining bright onto Lambeau Field. It felt like it was supposed to be a glorious day in Titletown, U.S.A. Instead, the final whistle sounded without victory that was so closely in our grasps. Empty, man. Empty.

The Clay Matthews penalty makes the NFL seem like a scam. It felt like I was watching the old-school WWF Saturday Night Main Event from the late 80’s. Highly entertaining and full o’ drama. But, really: Why are they wearing pads? A helmet? Let’s put flags on them!

Isn’t it amazing that in the Packers 100th season; the coaches, players and fans do not know the rules of the game?

I saw this tweet posted by Jim Owczarski: “Crazy stat of the day - 31% of all of the #Vikings offensive plays were run after the flag on Clay Matthews. Packers D was gassed late.”

I also saw that Marques Eversoll posted this to Twitter: “Kirk Cousins was 35-48 for 425 yards, 4 TD 1 INT. If the Clay Matthews flag wasn't thrown, Cousins woulda been 23-32 for 284 yards, 3 TD 2 INT.”

‘queens fans that I have talked to - and there were a number of them - also believe that the call on Matthews was absolutely nonsensical. They’re quick to point out that Rodgers got the same call earlier. They’re right. He did. Both were brutal calls that are indicative of the sports downward spiral. The difference between those calls is extreme however. When the call went in the Packers favor, the Packers were already getting a first down on the play as Griffen was penalized for being offsides, so the penalty simply nullified another penalty on the ‘queens and gifted the Packers 10-yards. When the call went in the ‘queens favor, it cost the Packers a victory. It cost Jaire his first career interception. It’s the type of call that could cost the Packers a the division, a first round bye, or possibly even home field throughout. It’s a horrific display of officiating. It’s really tough to stomach. And, worse yet, the NFL doesn’t even own up to the mistake. It’s unacceptable.

Had the Matthews hit been called correctly - no one really knows what’s correct any more, I guess. But, had the play been officiated like nearly every other play in the history of the NFL, and the tone of this blog would be on the immediate impact that this team has received from Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson, Mike Pettine, and JK Scott. The Packers would’ve beaten the ‘queens not off of the 2-time MVPs arm but off of special teams and defense. Instead, we saw Minnesota’s kicker meltdown on two separate occasions and because of it, both teams are wondering “what if.”

As I write, I listen to the Dirty Heads “Phantoms of Summer: The Acoustic Sessions” album. It’s calming acoustic Reggae chop soothes the soul and bring perspective. The album also offers lyrical strength that relates to the NFL: “It burns higher and higher. They can't put out the fire. It burns higher and higher. They can't put out the fire.”

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Packers antagonists will laud Mike Zimmer for managing the clock and protecting his timeouts. I'm of the opposite mindset. Mike McCarthy's team outclassed Mike Zimmer's team for the first 58:30 of the game. Had Davante Adams caught the ball on 2-separate passes in the end zone, Zimmer would've taken the bus back to the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a 12-point loss and 2-timeouts in his pocket. But, Adams dropped the ball twice and he kept the 'queens alive. McCarthy's team was more physical for most of the game. McCarthy's team was better prepared. McCarthy kept with the crossing route, he also got his prized free agent TE involved. Zimmer had no answer except to continuously bench his CB's in an attempt to find a match-up that worked. Really, the only things that seemed to stop the Packers offense were Davante Adams dropping the ball and a couple of highly questionable officiating decisions that played a significant role in stymying drives that were potentially game altering.

An aggressive Mike McCarthy is a good Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was in attack mode. He played to win. I loved the Packers decision making with the exception of two of Rodgers' decisions at the line of scrimmage, which I'll get to shortly.

Aaron Rodgers is in a class of his own. But, let's come clean. A week after Rodgers was an absolute mastermind, down 20, at Lambeau Field, in the game that marked the start of the Packers 100th anniversary; well, one week later, Rodgers wasn't himself. He almost out-thought himself. His decision audible out of a pass and into a run on 3rd and short - up 2 - inside the Red Zone late in the 4th was costly as the 'queens blew up the play. And, then, he made a devastating decision when he kept the ball and lost control of it on 2nd and short when the Packers were in FG range in OT. Had Rodgers simply handed the ball to J-Will, he'd have definitely gotten back to the line of scrimmage and kept the Packers within Crosby's range.

G-Mo finna be a fixture in this offense for years to come. He’s been a reliable 3rd down target. A YAC gatherer. Special teams, too, yo!

Kenny Clark. Dude dominates.

Jostling Jaire looks like T-Buck with a punch to him. Love the way he carries himself. A shepherd for positivity on the defensive side of the ball. Kid loves to celebrate. He’s shockingly physical. I can dig on that.

JJ and Jostling Jaire on the double slot blitz looks like a thing to come.

JJ has a pick coming. Soon. Love the way he tries to undercut routes and goes full extension on his leap to defend passes.

I don’t believe that Pettine trusted Jostling Jaire on the outside, at this stage. Hence, he went to House. And, he got burned.

It was nice to see the harmony between Rodgers and Graham. Let’s hope that’s a sign of what is to come.

Randall Cobb has been a Jedi after the catch.

Stoked to see Aaron Jones returning to the lineup! In a perfect world, he will have grown in the pass blocking game like Ty and J-Will have. J-Will and Ty have both been beasts as pass protectors to start the season.

Can’t wait to see Oren Burks making his debut this Sunday. Somehow, Someway this team needs to improve its pass rush. I’m hoping that Burks will be able to get home on inside blitzes. Dude is a dawg!

MVS is on the board! 1 catch for 3 yards. I want to see him running underneath a deep ball this week out of the slot. He should get a free release and very little attention. Could be a big play waiting in the wings.

Not to fully complain about the officiating, but I wouldn’t be showing my emotions in a justifiable fashion without pointing out how one-sided the game was called on significant plays. The holding call on Lane Taylor that negated the Jimmy Graham TD and a 3-score lead was highly questionable. I thought it was fairly clear that Richardson slipped on the play. The two back-to-back pass interference plays in the second quarter with the Packers looking to take a two-score lead left the Packers on the wrong end of the stick. On the first play, Graham was clearly interfered with, but there was no call. One play later, yes, Adams created separation with his hand, but that’s called roughly 50% of the time. It was terrible officiating for the Packers to get a bum deal on both calls - especially at Lambeau Field.

On the play after the Matthews penalty, Mo Wilk had a chance to seal it and he couldn’t hold on.

Mason Crosby is normally money on that game winning kick. I had no doubt in my mind that he was going to make the kick. He missed it.

Davon House. Unacceptable. Absolutely terrible. In one play, Minnesota was right back in the game. Terrible defense by the veteran CB.

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to use the fanspeak.com website to put together a Mock Draft on a weekly basis. I'm really pulling for Saints losses to pile up. They have tough road games at Atlanta and at the NYG on the horizon. The schedule doesn't get easier for them either as they will have games against ATL, TB, CAR (x2), Pitt, MN, Philly and the Rams after this 2-game stretch. Can you imagine if NO has a 7-9 season and the Packers net a top 14 pick in the trade last year? That'd be yoeman's work from Gutekunst. For this week, I didn't draft anyone that was not on their recently updated board. As I also stated last week, I wanted to try and mix things up from week-to-week. Here's what I came up with this week:

Round 1a - Nkeal Harry, WR, ASU
Round 1b - Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State
Round 2 - David Edward, OT, WI
Round 3 - Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford
Round 4 - Jordan Fuller, S, Ohio State
Round 5 - Carl Granderson, EDGE, Wyoming
Round 6a - Deshaun Davis, LB, Auburn
Round 6b - Jordan Miller, CB, Washington
Round 7 - Cody Thompson, WR, Toledo

This week - the Packers travel to Washington to take on the Redskins. It'll be a challenge to escape this vat of negativity. It'll be a test for the Packers to be emotionally ready. It's their first road game of the year. They're coming off of two highly intense, playoff atmosphere, home games. Now, they'll head to the Nation's capital to find a stadium that won't be stuffed with football maniacs. The 'Skins are coming off an embarrassing home loss. And, in today's week-to-week league, you have to imagine that the 'Skins play with pizzazz. They'll be ready. And, when you're destined for a 7-9 season, as the 'Skins are, you're going to have really bad weeks and you're going to have really good weeks. The Packers better be ready for Washington's best shot.

Offensively, look for the Redskins to utilize ball-control. They'll be patient. They'll try to pound Adrian Peterson on early downs and look to find themselves in 3rd & 4 or less to go for a first-down. Then, they'll try to utilize Alex Smith's smart decision making and accuracy to move the sticks. Smith will quickly look to the check downs to Chris Thompson out of the backfield. Blake Martinez better be ready to cover and make open field tackles on the elusive Thompson. Smith's first option will be Jamison Crowder though. Crowder will live in the slot and he'll mostly sit down just past the first-down marker. Crowder is a witty route runner and possesses reliable hands. Jordan Reed isn't what he used to be, but he's still a dangerous target down the seam. Throughout the years, Reed has had big games against the Packers defense. Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson are deep threats for Washington. The Packers should match up well against both Doctson and Richardson. Look for Mo-Wilk, Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark to collapse the pocket against Chase Roullier and Casey Dunn - who will likely be playing for the injured Shaun Lauvao. The left interior of the 'Skins line does not resemble the Hogs that I grew up watching in Washington DC. They can be had.

Defensively, Washington has an intriguingly young team that is both overly aggressive and extremely confident. The 'Skins have invested mightily in their defense. They start three first round picks and a second round pick. They also start two prized Free Agent signings in Zach Brown and Josh Norman. DJ Swearinger brings attitude to the safety position and Mason Foster is a steady LB that won't be found making mistakes. Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, and Da'Ron Payne are disruptive. Ziggy Hood and Matt Ioannidis add good depth to the DL. Pernell McPhee can still rush the QB on 3rd down and must be accounted for. The secondary has youthful, developing talent in Montae Nicholson, Fabian Moreau, Greg Stroman, Troy Apke and Adonis Alexander. Look for Quinton Dunbar to get the start across from Josh Norman. Rodgers will target Dunbar early and often.

My guess is that the Packers receive a big-time wake-up call early. The Packers come out lethargic. Emotionally unfit. The Redskins strike first, the 'Skins fans start to show excitement and carry belief.

But, Rodgers gets going. In a big way. He goes for Davante. It's Rodgers to Adams on consecutive plays for first downs. It's Rodgers to Adams for an equalizer.

Rodgers also finds Graham for a TD. And, this time, it counts!

Mike Daniels plays without fear of grabbing a penalty and latches onto his first sack of the year. Clay also collects a sack.

If the Packers are a legit early-season contender, they win 30-13. But, they aren't that far along yet. Instead, it's a dog fight and the Packers stave off a late Redskins rally.

Packers 24.
Redskins 20.

Go Pack Go!

Talkin' S-Mac.
talkins-mac.blogspot.com