SnoTap's Packer Classroom: Packers at Bengals

This could be applied to the entire Week 3 NFL slate, but this feels like waking up from a night where you clearly drank too much.  Maybe you do not wake up in your bed, maybe you are wearing the clothes from the night before, maybe there is indication you ate some drunk food, but waking up you clearly have no idea what actually happened to close out the night. This is how I feel about this game.  Try explaining this game to someone who did not watch it, it would be damn near impossible. I try to pick up the pieces as we do most mornings after a blackout performance.

A-Game
Clay Matthews - Other than Aaron Rodgers, Clay definitely has the highest football Wins Above Replacement on this Packer football team. Matthews' impact was shown as the Packers played a pretty strong defensive effort in the first half after giving up an early opening touchdown, and Claymaker had a lot to do with it including a pouncing tackle to force a fumble.  Once again, Matthews hurt his hamstring in the second half and the Packers defense did not play the same. He expects to play against Detroit in two weeks and Green Bay needs him more than ever before.

Brad Jones - Thought the Packers duck-footed linebacker played pretty well on Sunday and is showing why the Packers decided to spend money on him. Jones is someone who goes pretty unknown throughout the game yet he already has 26 tackles on the season including eleven of them on Sunday afternoon.  Jones had a great strip of the football forcing a fumble for one of the four Packers turnovers in the first half of the game.

Sam Shields - STICKY. He is having a great year so far this year. We talked about in our Packer preview that possibly A.J. Green could be shut down because the Packers have been great in the vertical routes. Shields stayed on Green for the most part of the season, and played really well. He also had an interception to help turn the tide of his game. Shields is playing like a number one cornerback and that's a beautiful thing to see for the Packers moving forward as they could have two elite cornerbacks.

B-Game
Johnathan Franklin - Another big running back performance by a player not named Eddie Lacy although I am convinced the Alabama product would have had a big game had it not been against San Francisco. Franklin came in for James Starks who went out with a knee injury and rushed for 103 yards on only 13 carries averaging 7.9 a carry with a touchdown. Yes, Franklin had a bad fumble that cost the Packers the game, but he played his ass off in a situation that many of players would not live up to it.

M.D. Jennings - Sure, he is not the best safety in the National Football League, but he has a nose for the endzone after picking up a fumble or picking a pass off.  Jennings found pay dirt after recovering a fumble on Sunday afternoon. Jennings played pretty well for the most part. The Packers did not have the issues of wide receivers having big days over the middle.

Tramon Williams - How about Tramon playing a little bit of the Charles Woodson role? The Packers sent him on multiple blitzes and yes, it is okay to worry about his shoulder yet the Tramonster looked great in that role.  He sacked Dalton after coming free in the middle of the right side of the line.  Williams has not had a sack since the 2010 season when he had one against Chicago in September. Who knows if this is a mirage or things to come with Tramon.

C-Game
Datone Jones - This is only in the C category because he did one thing. Jones blocked an extra point that many believed would impact the game as the Packers held a three-point lead versus a two-point lead. Jones stuck his bear paws up and made the play. Hopefully, this is not the last time he comes free on the field goal or extra point team and blocks some more this season.

McCarthy's playcalling - Many people are drumming up some concern about McCarthy's playcalling in general.  This is one of those things where I would need to see the All-22 tape to see if Mac really did make errors or Aaron Rodgers was that bad this week.  I thought he called a masterful game against Washington and the only real complaint is taking the foot off the throat a little early.  Additionally, the next game is against Detroit, a team who the Packers have put up big time numbers against multiple times before, so let's sort of wait and see with how McCarthy is as a playcaller.

This time last year: Pats, Colts, Broncos, Redskins, Packers all 1-2. Cardinals 3-0. Eagles, Jets, Chargers 2-1.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 23, 2013

Three Week Overreactions - That is great perspective from Grantland's Bill Barnwell to show this month does not mean much for the Packers or any other team at 1-2.  If the Chicago Bears win again this week and establish a two-game lead over Green Bay, is it okay to worry?  No not really because honestly, this is such a long season. It would help if the Detroit and Chicago both have a loss, but at the end, all that matters is getting to the playoffs.

D-Game
Aaron Rodgers - Trying to remember the last game from Rodgers where he played this bad.  I looked towards 2010 when he had a bad October struggling against Washington, Miami and New York. Rodgers looked completely ordinary against Cincinnati. I have no idea if it had anything to do with the hits he took throughout the game because Rodgers suffered more than the last two weeks or if Mike Zimmer just called an excellent game. This one is on Rodgers. If he does not throw the second interception, the Packers win this game. They would have at least had a field goal to put them up two scores.

Andrew Quarless - For those who wanted to replace Jermichael Finley with Quarless and D.J. Williams, I think it is pretty obvious why the Packers kept Finley instead. Quarless had two drops in the game along with a couple catches, but did nothing around the goal line to get open for Rodgers.

Jeremy Ross - The only reason this man is not getting an F for this performance is he bailed out the Packers when Johnathan Franklin went out with injury being basically a running back. Ross' fumble in the first quarter after the Bengals went down and scored with ease is completely inexcusable. In my opinion, it is hard to keep a player who makes a mistake like that one. With an extra week, I would be interested to see if Green Bay looks for a returner. Remember the Broncos did not get Trinton Holiday, their explosive returner, until the middle of the season.

F-Game
Cincinnati's Dirty Play - I feel like calling a team out for being dirty is like the brother of the people who call out players/coaches/teams for not being 'classy.'  But Cincinnati showed utter disregard for the new rules the NFL has put in place to prevent helmet-to-helmet hits. Vontaze Burfict should have been thrown for a nut tap to Ryan Taylor and the Packers first drive should have been extended after George Iloka hit Finley. There were a lot of problems with Cincinnati's play and I am curious to see what other teams will say in the coming weeks.

Hamstring injuries - Like why is this still a problem? Everyone seems to have a hamstring injury. Why is the training staff  not doing their job? If you do not do your job, fire them.  I realize how hard it might be to get rid of a training staff but this is ridiculous. Hamstrings are something that need to be stretched out and clearly that does not happen in Green Bay.

Don Barclay - He definitely did not rise up to the challenge of the Cincinnati defensive line. Barclay had trouble with both Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap especially at the end of the game as they kept knocking down passes. Barclay needs to resort to anything possible to ensure this does not happen and every defensive lineman in the coming weeks will try to stick their hands up now knowing the Packers are susceptible.

Charlie.

Read More

SnoTap's Packer Classroom: Redskins at Packers

As some of you loyal SnoTap readers might realize this is a name change from last week and last season. I made the decision for a variety of reasons, but this is what it will be going forward.  The concept is pretty much the same as Star Ratings with a new name. Hope you guys enjoy it.

A-Game
Aaron Rodgers - There is a line in Gladiator where Maximus goes 'Are you not entertained, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?' I feel this is Rodgers for the entire game. One of those games where you talk about for the next 20 years of your life. Brett Favre had games like this where he would have deep balls and five or six touchdown games although they never seemed as efficient as what we saw from Rodgers on Sunday afternoon.  He carved up Washington's defense and made it look easy. Cincinnati will be a great challenge for him this week.  

James Jones - While this might frustrate some fantasy football owners, the Packers offense is truly unpredictable. Every game, it could be a new player. After Jones only had two targets and no catches in San Francisco to eleven catches for 178 yards. Pretty solid day at the office for Mr. Jones (Hold your Counting Crows jokes please). They made it a point to get the ball to Jones and he really works well in the middle of the field.

James Starks - This was a complete surprise. I did not see this one coming. When Eddie Lacy went down with a concussion, I figured the Packers would go with an all-out passing assault and ignore the run as they have so many times before. Green Bay used a nice mix with Starks and Rodgers, and the Buffalo product ran his ass off with people reminiscing about his 2010 NFL Playoff performance. If Starks stays at this level plus Lacy hopefully figuring it out, the Packers become even more lethal.

3rd Down Dominance - Some of the numbers were skewed with the fourth quarter as the Packers played more relax than they did in the other quarters, yet they shut Washington down Jon Taffer-style on third downs for most of the game. Whether it be a strong pass rush or their defensive backfield, they made the stops that did not happen against San Francisco.

B-Game
Sam Shields - Sticky played his ass off on Sunday. He had eight tackles, five of them being solo and also had three pass deflections. Washington's passing offense is predicated on running a lot of vertical routes with speedsters, Pierre Garcon and Santana Moss (I use that lightly with Moss as he can soon play in the 55+ leagues) and Green Bay took that out of the equation entirely. Shields and Tramon Williams deserve credit for that. They will have a challenge with A.J. Green this week.

Jordy Nelson - This is where grades could seem a little harsh. Nelson's catches were A-plus do not get me wrong, but he only had three of them for the game. Two ended up being touchdowns and man, did he make all of the catches look pretty?  FOX's Joe Buck seemed like he was falling in love watching Nelson play on Sunday and I really cannot blame him. Jordy is ballin' early on this season.

Mike Neal - My buddy Seth and I have a running ongoing joke about Mike Neal that he is just a workout warrior and would never really pan out for the Packers. Well both of us probably need to stop joking about that one. Neal made the transition to at least play some linebacker this year and he had an interception on Sunday on a fourth down play. Neal is a good player and yes, I still hope every day he stays healthy.

C-Game
Jerron McMillian - Here's the thing. He had five tackles. The middle of the field was still pretty open and I am scared as hell to watch him trying to take on the duel threat tight end group of Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert, but he played better. He did not have the game where it looked like he puked all over himself throughout the game. McMillian might be a player that needs to be put in at different points of the game and not for the whole thing.

Davon House - WE WANT MORE HOUSE.  I have no idea how effective he would be if he played more than House did on Sunday, but his playtime needs to increase next week. House had a sack off the corner, a pass deflection and seemed to be everywhere on Special Teams. House might be the player who will fill the gap for the absence of Casey Hayward.

D-Game
Robert Griffin III - This is the section where I tell you like the 14140 people on the Internet that Robert Griffin III does not look the same player. He clearly does not want to get hurt again making Washington changed their offense entirely this year and the team has been limited. Maybe they figure it out in the coming weeks but next week against Detroit is an absolute must-win.

Don Barclay - Don is going to be the scapegoat of the offensive line this week. They did not play consistently this week and I felt like Barclay was the weakest of the group. He had a penalty on him and allowed too much through.

Iowa struggle is so real - A couple of us ventured to Des Moines, Iowa for a wedding this weekend. It was a grand time honestly, but trying to find the Packer game on the radio coming home was damn near impossible. We tried using a smart phone... no luck.  We had the FOX pregame only to get like an NFL Redzone Channel then it shit out on us sooner than later.  My buddy Brett was reading the play-by-play on ESPN while I was reading tweets from people for awhile. Thankfully, we found a radio broadcast by the second quarter.

F-Game
Josh Sitton... A target? - I have no idea if Sitton's back is the reason for all the holds so far this season, but man, it is becoming a problem. I believe, correct me if I am wrong, but officials watch tape too so maybe Sitton is getting fingered by the zebras as a holder, or opposing teams are telling the refs to watch #71. I think Sitton is fine, but he needs to cut out the holding.

Brandon Meriweather - A dirty player. It is really hard to call Merriweather something other than that. He launched his head at two Packers running backs. He will be fined and if he likely pulls something like this again, Meriweather will probably be suspended.

The whole Redskins secondary - They are so damn bad. Detroit has a great passing attack and Matthew Stafford could go off big time. I have no idea how Washington will stop their aerial attack.

Charlie.

Read More

Star Ratings: Packers at Niners

If you read Sports News on Tap last year, we started doing Star Ratings where we graded out how the game went for the Packers. This will be our Packer feature on Monday morning unless there is something else that needs to be talked about with this team.  It goes from being really encouraging to being negative pretty quickly here so hold on to your butts.

Five Stars
Jordy Nelson - Remember the Packers wide receiver did not play at all for the entire preseason. Many people worried about Nelson's health and if he was fully recovered from his knee injury.  Nelson finished the game with seven receptions, 130 yards and a touchdown. One of the catches was an absolutely ridiculous toe-tap that I believe only a few receivers in the entire National Football League.

Ryan Pickett - While much was made about the return of Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett played like a grown ass man on Sunday.  Save the last San Francisco touchdown drive, the Packers rush defense looked excellent today and Pickett had a lot to do with it. It is pretty clear the words about him taking care of himself in the offseason is not bullshit player speak. Pickett is one of the more under regarded players, but he can ball with the best of them.

Clay Matthews - What a game from Clay.  Talk about a player who backed up his mouth with his play. I cannot remember a game where Matthews seemed so involved with almost every play. He only had one sack but he had three TFL's as well meaning four of his six tackles were in the backfield. When fully healthy, Matthews is a complete player and a monster. In my opinion, he feels like the team got too soft throughout the year and he wants to put the anger back in this defense.

Anquan Boldin - Remember when I wrote a week ago that I worried about Boldin's age? Yeah I am an idiot. He put on his grown man moves today and probably made every Baltimore Ravens fan drink whisky with their dinner tonight.  Could it be the Packers safeties were just that bad? Yes, but at the same time, I feel like Boldin showed he had some gas left in the tank. Watching him against the Legion of Boom next week will be fun.

Four Stars
Tim Masthay - GINGER WOLVERINE IS AN ACTUAL WOLVERINE.  For whatever reason, Mike McCarthy decided Masthay will be doing the kickoffs and he did a fantastic job. But he also got in on two of the tackles, making one and getting blown up on another one. Nothing is better than a kicker or punter who gives zero f---s about his body.

Randall Cobb - Big time game from Randy but I feel like that's what we come to expect at this point. I did not throw Aaron Rodgers into the first week of Star Ratings for this very reason although he played pretty well.  Cobb continues to be one of the best threats the Packers have on their team.  We talked about his hype all August and as always,  we look forward to the day where we can say we were wrong about calling him a bit over-hyped.

Sam Shields - For as bad as the secondary was on Sunday, Shields played pretty well.  He made the great play on Colin Kaepernick's deep ball making sure Kyle Williams did not get a touchdown. Shields also seemed to blanket the outsides pretty well.  The big gains were all throughout the middle of the field which should absolve Shields of some of the criticism although I wonder why he did not stick with Boldin more than he did.

Colin Kaepernick - He beat the Packers with his arm, not his legs. That should scare the shit out the NFL. It scares me. I still think he is not all there when it comes to decision-making, but Kaepernick will sort that out. I find it crazy he still has not played a full season in the NFL. The future is white hot bright for him.

Three Stars
Badass Team - Some people will criticize Clay Matthews for acting like a cheetah in the wild pouncing on Kaepernick clearly after the play and instigating a fight between the teams. But you know what, I loved it. This team lacked a sense of mean to them. They always looked soft, not ready to stand up to anyone unlike the 2010 squad whom would jaw with anyone in shouting distance. I hope this continues as the year goes on and also the defense gets better. The latter part is more important than being swashbucklers but still, it's nice to see a little attitude on the field.

David Bakhtiari - For this first game of his NFL career against one of the best pass rushes, I feel like he held his own for the most part. He did not get called for one single holding penalty and kept Rodgers protected more often than not.

Two Stars
Eddie Lacy - This is a harsh two stars section because I am picking on two rookies in their first game, but this is how Star Ratings works, we are not here to mess around. Lacy showed some promise in the drive to put the Packers ahead and I am fully confident he will have some big games when the rush defense is not one of the best in the league.

Micah Hyde - I want to welcome Micah Hyde to the league and why preseason means virtually nothing. Hyde got bapitized by Boldin and the boys Sunday afternoon.  He should be fine, but it shows the notion of him being better than Casey Hayward a bit absurd.

One Star
Jerron McMillian - There is not much nice I can say about McMillian. He did not really come up and make a couple big hits. He definitely did not defend the safeties or the middle at all. Look I do not care if you get flagged for a hit, at least let the offense know you exist.  McMillian was a ghost.

Jeremy Ross - Get somebody taking the kicks back who believes they are a football player, not Usian Bolt. Ross cost the Packers 20 or so yards of field position by taking two deep balls out of the end zone.

Bill Leavy's Crew - So after the fracas, the Niners and Packers received off-setting personal foul penalties and the referees replayed the down leading to a touchdown by San Francisco but FOX's Mike Pereira pointed out it should have been 4th and 2 instead. Leavy admitted fault but it basically cost the Packers four points. They lost the game by six with the final three comes late. It could have been a much different game.

Charlie.

Read More