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.

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32 in 31: Green Bay Packers

Another year of 32 in 31. Sports News on Tap takes the month of August to preview the National Football League. We spend every day of the month looking at a new team and how they will fare in 2013.

Naturally, when I am writing about the team I root for their 32 for 31 is completely different. Is it because they matter more than the other 31 teams? Yup. 100 percent. I am not someone Mitch and I rail on every week in the podcast, but at the same time, I still care about this team more than any others in the league. So instead of doing the whole model, we are going to look at the 15 most important players on the Packers roster this year (I like how this turned out so I am probably doing it for the Badgers tomorrow as a preview). There are some obvious ones, but some will be surprising for sure. Feel free to tweet me any suggestions or call me an idiot.

15.) DE Datone Jones - How big does his rookie season need to be?  The numbers really do not need to jump off the page, but Jones just needs to have an impact. The Packers have been looking to replace Cullen Jenkins for the last three years, if Jones can be that guy, Green Bay is in great shape.

14.) OT Marshall Newhouse - He had a rough year at left tackle, but moving over to right tackle could be all the different. Newhouse has a short leash without question with Don Barclay breathing down his neck, but there were games last season where Newhouse looked like an above average tackle. He just needs to be more consistent.

13.) LB A.J. Hawk - One of the Packers who takes the most shit from fans, but he had a great year last season. He had 120 tackles last season with three sacks. Additionally, Hawk did this when the defensive line was not at their best. If Hawk gets more help from the d-line, he will have a big year.

12.) S M.D Jennings - One of the more interesting players on the Packers roster this season. Jennings had a decent rookie year, and now he will be the starting strong safety to start the year. Strong safety is another position where they are still looking to plug a long-term hole after Nick Collins retired and Morgan Burnett moved to free safety.

11.) TE Jermichael Finley - He might be ranked lower than he should be, but a huge year for Finley as he heads into his final year of his contract. Finley looked great so far in preseason and it appears he is Aaron Rodgers number one target at least to start the season. I am curious to see Packer fans reactions if he has a drop or two combined with eight catches and 100 some years and a touchdown, I bet they will still be mad. I am also letting everyone know now I am probably going to be obnoxious if J-Mike has a great year.

10.) RB Johnathan Franklin/Alex Green - Franklin had an awful training camp, and maybe he will not do much this season leading to hashtags like #FreeTheMayor or something dumb like that. I still think Green can be a dynamic player for the Packers and has a chance to help lighten the load for Eddie Lacy.

9.) LB Brad Jones - He got paid in the offseason after having his best year of his career moving from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. Jones did not play at this level before the 2012 season making some Packer fans nervous why they gave him money.  My biggest fear is Jones and Hawk have to be the slowest middle linebacker group in the game meaning they could have some major problems with tight ends.

8.) WR Randall Cobb - One of the biggest breakout years in the National Football League. The hype for Cobb is gigantic and it will be okay if he does not live up to it. It looks like his bicep injury will be healed up for the San Francisco game. Cobb will continue to be a game changer for this Packer team. It will be interesting to see if the Packers still use him as a running back as he will not be returning kicks or punts.

7.) CB Tramon Williams - He really has not been the same player since the Super Bowl. Williams battled with injuries in the last two years and it looks like he could miss Week 1 with a knee injury. When Williams is playing at his highest level, he is one of the best shutdown corners in the game. Even when he plays dinged up, Williams still plays at a high level.

6.) OT David Bakhtiari - It is hard to really quantify how good Bakhtiari has to be this season. He is a rookie so the expectations have to be managed and will get tested right away playing San Francisco and Washington. I expect some mistakes in the first month. It is about that second month and if the mistakes keep happening, then it's a real issue.

5.) OLB Clay Matthews - Can we get a full year with Matthews not getting dinged up? Probably not because the way he plays, but Clay needs to at least play a little less reckless to avoid the occasional hamstring injury.  I also wonder if the zone-read stuff will aid that for Matthews as he said 'I need to slow it down a bit' to read the quarterback. When Matthews is at his best, there are not many players who are better than him at outside linebacker.

4.) NT B.J. Raji - The first round draft pick is up for a big contract. Raji did not get it this offseason when he might have expected it. Raji has been inconsistent in the last couple of years, but when he is playing at his best, he can be a great defensive tackle. If Raji plays well, he paves the way for the linebackers to make big plays.

3.) K Mason Crosby - Yes a kicker is the third most important player on this team.  Crosby looked great in the final day of training camp basically giving newbie Zach Ramirez the stone cold stunner. Kickers are weird birds and Crosby could have a Pro Bowl year after struggling mightily last year.

2.) QB Aaron Rodgers - Not much needs to be said here, obviously Rodgers' success will make the Packers better. I will be curious which media outlet comes out with an article about Rodgers struggling if the Packers run the ball more and Rodgers does not get the yardage he had in the last couple years.

1.) RB Eddie Lacy - Biggest year award goes to Lacy. Yes there is a ton of pressure on him to perform early on and it is probably unfair.  He is a rookie and like I mentioned with the other two, it still will be a feeling out process for the first couple of games. That being said, if the Packers have a 1,000+ rusher this year with Rodgers, they will be a damn good team
. 

Win total:

10-11 - I actually do not like Green Bay's schedule at all. I feel like they have a lot of tough games including road games against San Francisco, Baltimore and Cincinnati plus some difficult home games as well. They make the playoffs, but there is a chance they could be the Wild Card team instead of the division winner. 

Charlie. 

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