VIKINGS As the Boss says, '...at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe.' And Viking fans, we may be disappointed, but we have many Reasons To Believe this morning. Stock Market Report, after the jump. Star-divide Blue Chip Stocks: Adrian Peterson, RB. Adrian Peterson ran with anger, purpose, and violence last night, but it wasn't enough. One thing the Vikings were able to do, at least on a fairly consistent basis, was to run the ball effectively. Last year, it seemed that every other run was for no gain or a loss, and I didn't see that last night. Well, except when Albert Young carried the ball. Visanthe Shiancoe, TE. Shiancoe was Favre's favorite target last night, and he came up huge, including the lone Vikings TD. I can't go one enough about Shiancoe's transformation here in Minnesota. He arrived from New York known as Jeremy Shockey's back up, dropped a lot of passes his first season, but has become arguably a Pro Bowl level player. He was the only reliable receiver Favre had on the field last night, and has emerged as a deadly red zone threat, as evidenced last night. Chad Greenway, EJ Henderson and Ben Leber, LB's. The starting linebackers were all over the place last night, and EJ Henderson was flying around. Holding the Saints to 14 points was an impressive achievement and Leber, Greenway, and Henderson played a big part of that. Sound Investments: The Offensive Line. There were a couple of breakdowns, but overall, I thought the line played well. John Sullivan acquitted himself well, considering he had virtually no playing time in the pre-season. When Bryant McKinnie went out with a finger injury...that required he be carried off on a cart, WTF?...Phil Loadholt moved to the left side and Ryan Cook was inserted on the right side. My immediate thought was...unprintable. Loadholt got schooled on the first play he was in on the left side, but after that, both Loadholt and Cook were fine. Considering the situation they were put into, I had no problems with their play. Favre had time most of the night to make throws, and Peterson had holes to run through. Really, what more can you ask for? Leslie Frazier, Defensive Coordinator. The Vikings had some breakdowns on defense, yes, and the first drive of the Saints was disconcerting, but overall I thought that was a tremendous gameplan that limited the high powered Saints offense to 14 points at home. The Saints were unable to run the ball for most of the night, and Drew Brees looked confused at times, which is something that rarely happens. The Vikings as a whole need to get better in several areas, defense included, but if Frazier can get the defense to hold teams to 14 points or less every week, they'll be an 11 or 12 win team. Junk Bonds: Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin, WR's. They needed to step up last night, and didn't. Harvin and Favre misfired on a couple of throws that could have been big plays, and Berrian dropped a critical third down pass on a drive that ended up being a field goal when the Vikes really could've used a touchdown. The Saints played in zone coverage most of the night, and the receivers were unable to find the seams in the zone or get separation from the defender on a consistent basis. These guys are too talented to perform this way every week, and they'll be back, but last night was a very forgettable performance for both of them. Brett Favre, QB. Favre had decent stats and a sweet TD pass to Shiancoe, but threw a horrible interception and looked out of sync with his receivers. He overthrew or underthrew several open guys, and seemed to checkdown to the backs and tight ends quite a bit. I don't know if he was unsure of where the receiver was going to go and hesitated to throw the ball, or if the receivers were covered, but Favre looked out of sync with his receivers all night long. Buy/Sell: Buy: The Vikings run defense for three quarters. Sell: The Vikings run defense in the fourth quarter. When they absolutely needed a stop, they couldn't get it, and the Saints ran out the clock. Is there a reason that the VIkings didn't adjust to the inside cutback? Anyone? Buy: Greg Camarillo's clutch third down catch. Nice play by a guy that was brought in to do just that. Sell: Greg Camarillo barely seeing the field. Was there a reason he wasn't in there? Favre was inaccurate, and Camarillo has hands like glue. Seems like he should've been a bigger part of the offense last night. Buy: Percy Harvin being fully healthy. Andrea Kremer reported that when he collapsed on the practice field, his heart stopped. That just sends chills up and down my spine, and I immediately think about Korey Stringer. But it sounds like they found out that he has sleep apnea, which was the trigger for is migraines, and they're treating him for that. Honestly, that was the best new I heard all night. Sell: Not using a 100% Percy Harvin on more misdirection plays. Last year the Vikes had a lot of formations where Harvin would go in motion, and they would either fake a handoff to him or give him the ball. WIth Favre and Harvin unable to connect through the air, I thought the Vikings might try and get Harvin more involved in the offense that way. They didn't, and my fantasy team suffered for it. Thanks, Chilly. Buy: The Vikings running game. Sell: The Albert Young part of the Vikings running game. He looked slow, tentative, and easy to tackle. Other than that, he looked great. Buy: Punt and Kick Coverage. Overall, I thought the Vikings did a good job against two of the better returners in the NFL, especially Reggie Bush on punt returns. K Ryan Longwell had good distance and hangtime on his kicks, and the cover team did just that. Sell: Blocked Extra Point. Flat out unacceptable. Buy: Antoine Winfield. He got burned on one play that I can think of off the top of my head, but he was a big part of the defense playing so well last night. Man, when he goes to tackle someone, they don't get away. Glad to see him back healthy. Sell: The rest of the cornerbacks suited up last night. Once Chris Cook and Cedric Griffin get back healthy, I firmly believe that the Vikings will have a very talented group of CB's. However, Asher Allen is the weak point. he got burned for the first score, and receivers got behind him all night. If a couple of balls don't get dropped, the Saints could've put up a lot more points. Buy: Taylor Swift on the pregame. Seriously, I'd pay a lot of money to be able to...nevermind. Sell: Dave Matthews. Didn't sound so good live, but that could've been distortion because of the TV feed. And maybe he's a really laid back guy, I don't know, but the dude looked absolutely BAKED last night. So week one is in the books. The Vikes are 0-1, but come home to the Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humprey Metrodome to face the Miami Dolphins in 10 days. The extra time allows Cook and Griffin to get healthy, and hopefully Toby Gerhart as well. I'm not nearly as distressed over this loss. Like I said, there's room for improvement, but there's also some good things that came out of last night's game. This defense is for real, the passing game will get there, and the o-line and Adrian Peterson look to be back in tthe 2008 form. Favre and the receivers will be ready to go for Miami, and I expect Dolphin on a Stick for football dinner next week. SKOL! http://www.dailynorseman.com/2010/9/10/1680241/week-1-stock-market-report So, the season opener has come and gone. The Vikings, unfortunately, sit at 0-1 after opening night. . .not optimal, to be sure, but in no way is everything doom and gloom in Minnesota right now. At least, it shouldn't be, anyway. After all, the Vikings held the best offense they're going to see all season to two touchdowns, despite not having anywhere near optimal personnel on the defensive side of the ball. Their offense also looked out of sync, which is something else that will change as the season progresses. Starting with the positive, we'll look at the defense. The Vikings went into this game with only three healthy cornerbacks, as well as a guy making his first NFL start at safety in Husain Abdullah. . .and he was rotating into a cornerback position against multiple-receiver sets. This is not going to be the case all year, to be sure. Chris Cook, who was outstanding in camp and likely would have started had he been available, could be back as early as our match-up with the Miami Dolphins, and it appears that Cedric Griffin could be back at almost any time, given the fact that his status was listed as "questionable" prior to the season opener. Yet, despite those personnel shortcomings in the secondary, they actually played some relatively solid football after getting torched on the game's opening drive. And, please, don't give me anything about how many opportunities the other team "missed." Missed opportunities don't mean anything. . .if they did, the Vikings would have hung a 50 spot in last year's NFC Championship Game, and Thursday night's game would have been played in Minneapolis. The fact of the matter is that the scoreboard says that the Vikings held their opponent to 14 points. For a defense that entered the game as short-handed as the Vikings did, they held their ground much better than many folks expected them to. When Cook and Griffin are back and the Vikings can move Asher Allen to the dime role instead of pushing him out there as a starter, the Minnesota secondary is going to be just as solid as the Minnesota front seven. . .and that's going to spell huge trouble for opposing offenses. Star-divide Speaking of offense, allow me to rave for a moment about the abilities of one Visanthe Shiancoe. When the Vikings gave this guy a huge contract before the 2007 season, everyone kind of wondered what the heck was going on. He was a guy that rarely got on the field for the New York Giants, and caught very few passes before coming to Minnesota. And for the first year and a bit of his contract with the Vikings, he was a disaster. . .struggling to get open, and dropping way too many passes when he did. But after the game against the Indianapolis Colts in 2008, a light came on in his head, and he's been one of the best tight ends in football ever since. His TD catch on Thursday was his 19th in the last 33 regular season games. . .and, just as a reminder, the only two NFL players that have more over that time are Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss. He was the only reliable target Brett Favre had on Thursday night, and made two outstanding catches to get Minnesota their lone touchdown. Which brings us to the rusty, out of sync offense. Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, the Minnesota offense is not going to be this awful all season. No way. There's too much talent on this offense for that to happen. Yes, the majority of this has to do with Brett Favre not being at training camp, and not having a couple of cupcakes to get himself asserted against first before moving on to the tougher challenges. It showed in the fact that he was off on his timing with the receivers that were out there, and was somewhat apparent on the interception he threw. . .although, on that throw, the only way that Shiancoe getting assaulted could have been more obvious is if Jodie Foster and a pinball machine would have been involved. That portion of things is entirely on Favre, to be certain. . .but the blame doesn't fall completely on him, either. For example. . .what the heck happened to the running game in the second half? I mean, other than us abandoning it completely. In the first half of the game, Adrian Peterson touched the ball a total of 15 times for 74 yards (57 rushing yards on 13 carries, and 17 yards on two receptions). He then carried the ball on the first three plays of the second half for another 20 yards. From the 13:54 mark of the third quarter until the end of the football game, Adrian Peterson touched the football three more times for 10 more yards, and didn't have a single touch in the entire fourth quarter of play. This, ladies and gentlemen, is un-freaking-acceptable. And it happens with this team way, WAY more often than it should. In the first two games of last year, when Favre was still getting acclimated to the Vikings' offense, Adrian Peterson had performances of 25 carries for 180 yards against Cleveland, and 15 carries for 92 yards against Detroit. In those two games, Favre went 14/21 and 23/27 passing the ball, respectively. On Thursday night, Peterson was still averaging around five yards per carry, and more often than not was picking up very good yardage when he got his hands on the ball. . .and our passing game clearly wasn't what it's going to be later on in the season, which one would think would have us running the ball more than throwing it. However, inexplicably, that wasn't the case. The best player on our football team didn't touch the football in the entire final quarter of play. Try to wrap your head around this for a minute. I mean, this isn't like Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson going an entire quarter without a catch. You can take away a wide receiver. . .you can't take away a running back. Just turn around and hand the guy the damn ball, for crying out loud. I'm not as anti-Brad Childress as I used to be, by any stretch. . .but this is one of those things that frustrates the hell out of me about him. He falls in love with the pass, even when it clearly isn't there, at the expense of not giving the best running back in football the pigskin. For the next two games, this offense needs to run through Adrian Peterson. Not Brett Favre. Maybe by the time the bye week gets here, the passing offense will finally be in shape and we can sling it around a little more, but right now the offense needs to slam Adrian Peterson at opposing people so the defense can get a rest. . .we saw them wear out at the end of Thursday night's game, and that has to be the exception rather than the norm. Also, like many of you, I found the lack of Greg Camarillo on Thursday night disturbing. The Vikings needed a guy out there that could find the open spots and get his hands on the ball, and that's what Camarillo does. I know he and Favre don't have a lot of time together yet, and hopefully that will change, too. And, please, if we're not going to put the guy out there as a receiver, put him out there to return punts. . .I'm already tired of Bernard Berrian and his Nick Davis-esque adventures back there, seriously. Watching Berrian try to return punts is, to borrow a phrase, like watching Saimiri sciureus attempt to copulate with a football. I know, Berrian returned a punt for a touchdown once. . .in the same game that saw Tarvaris Jackson throw four touchdown passes. Yeah, tell me that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. So, there you have it. . .the season opener is in the books, and we can sit back tomorrow, fire up the ol' Sunday Ticket (if you have access to that sort of thing), and watch whatever games we want. I know that I'll be looking at Miami/Buffalo to try to get a feel for next week's opponent, and there are a lot of other intriguing match-ups tomorrow as well. And then, a week from tomorrow, we'll be ready for football from the Metrodome for the first time this year. . .and, hopefully, our first victory of the year as well. But that's all for tonight, folks. . .enjoy what's left of your Saturday, and we'll have an open thread up here tomorrow morning for your football discussing pleasure. http://www.dailynorseman.com/2010/9/11/1683266/where-we-take-one-look-back-at-the
BEARS A few of the WCG staffers were chatting yesterday before the Bears-Lions game, and I made a comment about wanting our team to look good. I realized that Detroit was not going to be a pushover, as they had added too much talent in the last couple of years to not be bothersome. So, win or lose, I was really hoping that we would not be stumbling, bumbling, falling down, missing tackles, dropping passes, etc. My hope was that we would look sharp, like a real NFL football team. And for the most part, I would say we did. Sure there were some miscues, but there will be miscues in the first game of the regular season. Overall, there was a crispness to our offense, and our defense swarmed to the football with great regularity. We won, and despite what others may say, we looked pretty good doing it. Star-divide - Danieal Manning looked good on KORs just as he did last year. There was one return where he managed to run directly into a pile of Lions players, but otherwise looked solid. - Lance Louis may have gotten beaten a few times, but he also won a few battles as well. He looked very aggressive yesterday, and I saw him fighting 5-7 yards downfield a few times. Pleasant surprise. - Matt Forte has got his sexy back. And by sexy, I mean his speed. He showed his typical shiftiness and elusiveness, but his offseason surgery really put the turbo-boosters on. He showed his speed early, and even showed it later in the game as well, which is a sign of good conditioning. - Lions DT Ndamukong Suh is a grown man. If he stays healthy, he will be a force to be reckoned with for the Lions for years to come. - Frank Omiyale, I am rooting for you big guy. But, it does not help your case one bit when we are in our first goal line situation of the game, and I see your big butt get driven straight backwards into the backfield. Please don't do that anymore. - We cannot count on Greg Olsen to tackle anyone if we throw an interception. - I do not like DJ Moore being on the football field. While he did make one really nice play, making a line of scrimmage tackle on a straight handoff to the fullback, he also got tossed around like a ragdoll when he was in the thick of things. If the coaches want him to play pass coverage, fine. But, if the expectation is for him to provide run support as well, he's going to get killed. - When Forte fumbled the ball in Q2, did you see Olin Kreutz "make the tackle"? And I use quotation marks, because that was only a tackle by statistical definition. Kreutz got PLOWED by whomever that large gentleman was that picked up the fumble and ran with the ball. - I like Anthony Adams. I have always liked Adams, and I think he makes us a better football team when he is on the field. He plays very, very hard, and has great speed. He won't be dominant, but he will be disruptive. - Henry Melton looked good on KO coverage. - Game ball: Urlacher and Briggs. If they keep that pace up all season, they'll both be in Hawaii after the season. Complete domination. - Speaking of LBs, Pisa Tinoisamoa knocked some heads yesterday. He wasn't making big plays like Urlacher and Briggs, but he was taking on some lead blockers with a fury, and freeing up his teammates to make the plays. - I was so happy to see Jay Cutler getting outside the pocket on pass plays. Some were by design, and some were him scrambling. He looked awesome outside of the pocket for the most part. Also, did you all see the crispness of Cutler's passes? That dude can throw a beautiful football, and showed surprising accuracy for the most part yesterday. - Overall, the OL did not perform up to standard. They did do well in pass blocking (at times), but the run blocking was terrible. On short yardage situations, we saw our guys get plowed over. I am very encouraged, however, to see a lot of misdirection (traps, pulls, crosses) being called by Mike Martz. He knows that our run blocking is bad, so he didn't try to just mow people down very much. Great use of angles, lanes, and crosses, in my opinion. - Now, a few miscues that were very impactful: Peppers hit Stafford in the noggin on a 3rd down play, which in turn gave the Lions a 1st down. That lead to the Lions TD. Olsen fumbled. Forte fumbled. Cutler fumbled. Cutler INT'd. Aromashodu dropped a TD pass. Manning dropped an INT. There were other miscues, but had those not occured, we might have seen a larger margin of victory (I'm thinking blowout). Overall, even with the miscues, our beloved Bears looked pretty damn good against a Lions team that will surprise some folks this season. Here's hoping we got all the rust knocked off , and that we will come out grinding in Dallas next week. And for fun, here are some links: David Haugh's reaction to the game. Dan Pompei's reaction to the game. Steve Rosenbloom's reaction to the game. Quick stats: Jay Cutler: 23/35, 372 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 108.3 Rating Forte/Taylor: 26 rushes, 79 yds (3.04 avg), 0 TDs Forte: 7 rec, 151 yds, 2 TDs Aromashodu: 5 rec, 71 yds Knox: 3 rec, 52 yds Briggs/Urlacher: 18 total tackles Bowman/Tillman/Manning: 14 total tackles Peppers: 1 sack, 2 QB hits Maynard: 5 punts, 4 inside the 20. Now that you've had time to process, what's your perspective? http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2010/9/13/1685424/notes-scribbles-and-things-jotted My list of what the Bears defense had to feel bad about Sunday: They let the Lions go nearly the length of the field with the game on the line and would have given up a game-winning touchdown if not for the grace of an NFL rule that needs to be changed. That's it. And my list of what the Bears defense had to feel good about Sunday: They held the Lions to 14 points and gave up only three drives of more than 11 yards all game. If the Bears defense does that every week, this is going to be an exceptional football team. 2. Brian Urlacher is back. He was a force Sunday, and he lifted the performances of those around him. Lions fullback Jerome Felton dropped a pass when he heard Urlacher's footsteps. Urlacher also had a sack, three tackles for a loss, four other tackles and a quarterback hit. 3.The Bears held the Lions to a 29 percent conversion rate on third downs. This was the defense's biggest concern heading into the game. Last year, the Bears allowed opponents to convert 41.2 percent of third downs. In preseason, the Bears allowed opponents to convert 45.8 percent on third downs. 4.They were downright rude to the opposing quarterbacks. Julius Peppers knocked Lions starter Matthew Stafford out of the game with a brutal takedown in the second quarter. He also got the ball out on the play. Previously, Peppers was called for roughing the passer because he took Stafford down by the head. Peppers played like it was 1985, even if he talked like it was 2010. Asked about sending Stafford to the x-ray room, Peppers said, "That's not something I want to be proud of. I wanted to make the tackle and get the fumble, but I don't like to hurt guys like that." Peppers even sought out Stafford after the game to see if he was OK. The Bears held Lions quarterbacks to a 59.8 passer rating, and hit them five times. 5.They allowed the Lions one yard per carry. Run defense was and is a concern. But it wasn't a problem Sunday, when highly touted rookie runner Jahvid Best ran for only one first down all game. 6.They came up with takeaways, and takeaways are the lifeblood of this team. In addition to Peppers' strip/sack, cornerback Charles Tillman had an interception and Lance Briggs had a strip sack on the goal line. Briggs had an outstanding game. "Lance is a Pro Bowl player," coach Lovie Smith said. "He plays like that always." So there is a lot more to feel good about than feel bad about. The woe-is-me crowd will be quick to point out that it was only the Lions. Fair enough. But they couldn't undress the Packers Sunday because they were in Philadelphia. The Bears defense did what it had to do. The defense fattened up a bit on backup Shaun Hill, but we shouldn't completely pooh-pooh Hill. He came into the game with a career passer rating of 87.3 and a won-loss record of 10-6 as a starter. By comparison, Jay Cutler came into the game with a career passer rating of 83.8 and a won-loss record as a starter of 24-29. The Lions' last drive was concerning. It was concerning that no one stepped up in eight plays to prevent a touchdown, other than referee Gene Steratore. Of course, the Bears were trying to give up the underneath pass and play it safe. Their goal was to keep the Lions in front of them and keep them in bounds so the clock would run. The plan almost backfired when Lions receiver Calvin Johnson made what appeared to be a phenomenal catch. That plan should be reviewed moving forward. "I probably envisioned us a little bit better than this," Peppers said. "We had a couple of mistakes early we shouldn't have had, and they scored touchdowns on us. Once we get those things cleared up, there's no telling how good we can be." If it was perfection you were seeking from the Bears defense, you would have been disappointed. Otherwise, you should have been pleased. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ompei-bears-chicago--20100912,0,364233.column The Bears' offensive line successfully took the focus off their pass protection issues Sunday. But they did it by raising questions about their run blocking. Against a big, physical Lions front, the Bears' line didn't get much movement. Bears running backs averaged only 3 yards per carry. But what was most concerning was the line's performance in short yardage. In the fourth quarter, the Bears had a first-and-goal on the Lions' 1-yard line after linebacker Lance Briggs had a sack and fumble recovery. But the Bears failed to budge the Lions on a first-down Matt Forte run attempt. On second down, Jay Cutler had to throw the ball away because he was under pressure. On third down, the line didn't get any movement on another Forte rush that went nowhere. And on fourth down, Forte was stuffed for no gain. "We have to stick it in," left guard Roberto Garza said. "One yard, we have to get the job done." The Lions have been a lot more difficult to move since adding 320-pound Corey Williams and 307-pound Ndamukong Suh in the offseason. But that doesn't excuse the Bears' lack of execution. "It's a battle of wills down there," center Olin Kreutz said. "It's man on man. Your coach can't help you. They stopped us. I don't want to take any credit from them, they beat us man to man. They have some big bodies, but we do too. Every NFL team does. We just have to win man to man. … Down there, low man wins. That's on all of us." The offensive linemen took the blame, and they expect that critics will blame them as well. "When you don't score as an O-line down there, it's personal," Kreutz said. "We think about it. We know everybody is going to harp on the negative. We'll deal with that as an O-line this year. We've gone into our bunker. We know what people think of us. We'll keep fighting. We know every game there will be a negative and people will harp all over that. We understand that. There will be something to prove every game." Speaking of harping on the negative, the line also gave up four sacks. If they do that every game, Cutler will be sacked 64 times. In defense of the line, Cutler dropped back 39 times, and he threw for 372 yards. So believe it or not, the line was doing some things right. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...bears-side-2-o-line--20100912,0,7959405.story
LIONS As I sit here staring at a blank page, I feel as if I scarcely have the heart to start writing. Today's game has rocked me to my core as a Lions fan. When Stafford went down, I honestly got nauseous. No lie. I think that's a sign that I have a real problem, but that's another discussion best left for a future psychotherapy session. I watched all the hope and optimism that I've carried since the end of the 2009 season come crashing down as hard as Julius Peppers on Stafford's shoulder. All the cheering and excitement came to an abrupt halt and the vision of Shaun Hill warming up after halftime chilled me to the bone. Little did I know, that disturbing mental snapshot was not going to be the worst sight of the day. Still clinging to the hope that Stafford would emerge after a quick, precautionary MRI to lead this team to a victory, my heart sank deep into my chest as he emerged from the tunnel... no pads and his arm in a sling under his shirt. For nearly the entire third quarter, I sat motionless... staring at the television, completely comatose. A few weeks back, I playfully commented in someone's fanpost about a nightmare scenario with Stafford going down for the year. Now I was staring at that scenario in week one. In my mind, there was no worse situation. This was it. The season is lost. My optimism was completely drained from my body. Right or wrong, that is the way I felt. My mind started to reel at the thought of all of the lost progress losing Stafford would mean. I came unraveled. Star-divide As the defense started to step up in the fourth quarter, I did manage to come out of my fog a little. The thought of winning the game started to creep back into my numb mind. The back and forth emotions continued as the game came down to a few shots at the end zone. As I watched Calvin go up into the air and come down with the football - in bounds - I jumped from my couch, screaming at the television in sheer exhilaration (which my kids found hilarious)... feeling like maybe all is not lost. Wait. What? The ruling on the field was what? Snap back to reality... oh, there goes gravity... (insert the clip from the movie "Fight Club" where Edward Norton's character realizes he is Tyler Durden here...) A part of me simply wants to fall to my knees with arms reaching to the sky, screaming "Why? Why? WHY!?!?" What in the hell have we done to deserve such cruelty and suffering? Why don't we deserve to catch a break every now and then? Can the football gods not smile down on us once in a while? I just want to play the victim here. We didn't get beat because of talent today. We got beat because of a key injury and horrible rule. We are a better team than the Bears. In fact, if Stafford had not gotten hurt and we go into the half up 17-10 or better yet, 21-10, we easily win. The final score would likely have been 27-13 or something like that. But that didn't happen. Instead, the football gods decided to once again strike down our chances to be successful this year. I just can't understand it. Never has a lost felt so empty or a season felt so lost so early. One play has changed the course of our entire season. Like I said, if Stafford had not gotten hit, fumbled and gotten hurt, we'd have won the game today and I'd be feeling very different right now. In fact, I'd be feeling pretty damn good. But instead, I'm feeling something disturbing. I feel like never wanting to watch another Lions game again. I feel like this has finally happened one too many times. How many lost seasons can I endure? How many countless hours in the offseason can I spend devoted to this team only to have the season seemingly gone after one half of football? I just feel sick. I understand that we have fifteen more games and the season is not over, but I simply can't change the way I feel at this particular moment in time. I'm not even going to get into the call at the end of the game. It's an exercise in futility and it is the rule. As many have already said, it is an idiotic rule and it will likely be brought into the spotlight like the infamous Tom Brady "tuck rule", but that gives me absolutely no solace right now. None at all. Even if we won this game, the reality still would have to set in that Matthew Stafford could be out long term and the way Hill played today, gives us little hope considering our schedule. Yes, that is a pessimistic view, but my wounds are very deep right now. I truly hope that things aren't as bad as they appear, but right now the uncertainty is disconcerting at best. So, as much as I really don't want to delve back into this one, I'll give my... Thoughts on the Game: * As I always did last year, I'll start with the quarterbacks. And it really sucks that I have to use the plural form of the word. Before the injury, Stafford was hit and miss and the offense was very vanilla. I expected that, however. Offenses are usually a little slow to get in sync in week one and typically take some time to iron out the kinks. But the bottom line with the Stafford-led offense is that they got into the end zone twice. That's all you really need to know. Shortly before the injury (and the Forte sideline tightrope miscue), it was 14-3 and we were primed to go into the half up by two scores. * Once Hill entered the game, the entire offense fizzled. In fact, until the last drive, they had one first down the entire second half. One. Are you kidding me? I don't know if it was Linehan's bland playcalling or the lack of leadership under Hill, but something was certainly off. Watching that offense in the second half certainly gives me absolutely no faith that this offense will be explosive with Hill under center. * Where the hell were our wide receivers today? Calvin showed up in the fourth quarter, but where was he the rest of the game? One measly catch by wide receivers in the first half? That's not good enough. I don't know whether to blame the receivers or Linehan. The Lions sure came out ready to dink and dunk and check-down all game. Like I said, I can't tell whether that was the plan or if the receivers simply weren't getting open. Stafford had time in the first half, so it appears that the receivers simply weren't doing enough to get open. If Calvin is going to take the jump to elite, he's got to do more to make plays. * The other day, I commented on a fanpost that I was having nightmares about Julius Peppers going up against Jeff Backus. I can't remember who, but one of you chimed in and told me I had nothing to worry about. Care to restate that claim? * I do have to say the bright spot today was the defense. The injury and bad rule aside, the defense played one of the best games of football I've seen a Lions' team play in a long time. Take the two long Matt Forte touchdowns out of the game and it would have been absolutely dominant. They were put in awful field position all day long and still stood firm. They got pressure, hustled, got turnovers and just tackled... really well, for the most part. In fact, I don't remember more than one or two times complaining about missed tackles. * This defensive line will wreak havoc on weaker offensive lines... that much is sure. But I was actually impressed by the secondary. They made plays, tackled well and for the most part, kept the offense in front of them. I was very impressed - all things being relative to my fairly low expectations. Staying on the theme of defense, I just wanted to highlight a few players that I thought really played well today: o Kyle Vanden Bosch - Not since Chris Speilman have we had a Lions player with such a motor. The guy is non-stop and a real force. I am so glad we picked up this guy. o Ndamakong Suh - He was double-teamed all day long. I watched him a lot today and he was nothing short of superb. One of the strongest players, pound-for-pound, I've ever watched. This kid is going to be one of the best defensive tackles to ever play the game. Take that to the bank! o Sammie Lee Hill - Hill outperformed Corey Williams today... easily. Williams occupied space, but Hill was a real force. He was disruptive and dominant. A change in starters could happen soon. o Louis Delmas - Just confirmed all our suspicions that he is going to be special. He's so quick and his angles are just perfect. o Turk McBride - This kid really impressed me today. He was fast and powerful off the edge and played very well against the run. o Alphonso Smith - For a guy who has had one week to get ready, he played very well. He's a sure tackler and didn't make any huge mistakes. I think we got an absolute steal. If he could provide value in a game a week after his trade, imagine what he'll be worth to this team next year! * Actually, there were very few liabilities on defense today. I thought everyone out there played well today. There was a lot fewer containment issues and guys did a great job of staying with their assignments. This secondary is going to be susceptible to the big play, but today they did a good job of bending but not breaking. I would also be remiss if I did not mention that goal line stand. That was one of the most impressive displays of heart and physicality I've ever seen. Watching Gunther walk around and give the guys a quick pound on the pads gave me goosebumps. Once again, kudos for the defense being a bright spot on such a dark day. As of right now, a part of me is still clinging to the delusion that maybe Stafford's injury isn't too bad. As I write, the optimistic reports are that he is out 2-3 weeks. If he can come back after the bye week, I guess that's better than what could have been. But still... I am so pissed that this kind of thing always seems to happen. After watching our defense today, I think we had a chance. Without Stafford, I'm just not optimistic. If we are 0-4 at the bye week, it's going to be tough to go into Giants Stadium on the road and win. A 1-0 start today, then facing a potentially Kolb-less Eagles team next week would have given us some momentum and a chance to do something special this year. I'll admit... a little piece of me was left on Soldier Field today. http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2010/9/12/1684887/the-monday-morning-microscope-week We will know more about just how much time Matthew Stafford will miss later today, but right now speculation suggests that he could be out for as long as the next six weeks. An exact determination will not be made until Stafford has an MRI and X-rays this morning, but the Lions' own speculation is where the six weeks estimate is coming from. The Detroit Lions are bracing to be without Matt Stafford for four to six weeks after the quarterback suffered a shoulder injury in a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, according to a league source. I've seen some reports that suggest Stafford could miss only the next two weeks, but again, this is all based on speculation. Until the tests are done on Stafford's injured shoulder this morning, we won't know how long the Lions will be without him. Looking at the upcoming schedule, Stafford would be out until Halloween if he misses six weeks. The sixth and final week of his recovery would come when the Lions are on a bye, setting him up to return seven weeks after experiencing the injury. If the damage to Stafford's shoulder turns out to be much more minimal than originally thought, Stafford could return in time for the Vikings game on Sept. 26. Believing that would be taking the extremely optimistic approach that Stafford will be out only two weeks, though, and right now I just have a hard time trying to be positive about this situation. http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2010/9/13/1685573/matthew-staffords-injury-to-keep I thought our D-line played great and our secondary was solid with a lot of promise.. I think our biggest need as a team right now without a doubt is LBer.. The Bears RB's out of the backfield killed us and I don't think any of our LBers made many plays behind the LOS.. Hell I don't even think our LBers as a group had 10 tackles combined Zack Follet was a complete disaster out there, Landon Johnson looked like a backup and Julian Peterson looks like he is on his last legs.. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=93&f=1801&t=6362489
PACKERS From Mike McCarthy's post-game news conference: Ryan Granthad an ankle sprain, and he did not return, so I can’t tell you exactly how long he’ll be out. Also,Cullen Jenkins had a broken hand, he did return with a cast. Justin Harrell, it looked like he had a significant knee injury and he did not return. AndNick Collins had the bruised ribs there in the fourth quarter and he did return. And that's the end of the return of Harrell. Greg Bedard's tweet informs us that "significant injury" means "season-ending." It's not his fault he keeps getting hurt, but staying healthy is a talent too, and he just doesn't have it. Jenkins already returned during the game, and his pass pressure up the middle was a big reason why the defense held on. Also, with the injuries to Harrell, if Jenkins hadn't returned, then NT B.J. Raji and DE Ryan Pickett would have played nearly the entire game without substitution. Collins's injury took place on a big 3rd down incompletion that forced the Eagles to settle for a FG. Not a game deciding play, but huge for momentum. Right now, I'd expect they'll both play next week, but either of them could easily have a set back. Unfortunately it's unclear about Grant. He clearly wanted to return, he was pacing up-and-down the sidelines for the entire 2nd half, but the medical staff took away his helmet so he wouldn't. He did have a boot on by the end of the game, but he was still wearing both shoes during the third quarter. Everyone will be watching to see how his ankle responds to treatment next week. http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2010/9/13/1685237/packers-injuries-against-the If history means anything in game analysis, then this was a big victory for the Green Bay Packers. The win reminded me of the opening win over the Eagles in 2007 when CB Jarrett Bush made a big fumble recovery on special teams to set up the game winning field goal. The 2006 Packers would have never beaten a team like the Eagles, so it meant something was different that year, and obviously it was because the Packers returned to the NFC Championship game. Also, QB Aaron Rodgers's poor performance (by his standards) reminded me of his opening game in 2009 when he only threw for 184 yards against the Bears. He didn't have 2 INTs last season, but his play had the same lackluster feel. I had been thinking about how the Eagles must be one of their toughest road opponents this season. But actually the Packers 2010 schedule is brutal on the road, and they have to play four road games against teams that made the playoffs last season (Eagles, Jets, Vikings, and Patriots) while only two 2009 playoff teams at home (Cowboys and Vikings). A win is always good, but the brutal road games will continue. I covered injuries in an earlier post. It was a strange game overall. I expected the offense would look great and they struggled. I thought the defense would shut down the run, but the Eagles ran for over 7 yards/carry (largely due to non-called scrambles by QB Michael Vick). The Eagles special teams, led by one of the best coaches in the NFL (Bobby April) should have shined, but they were out played by the Packers. And while the 2009 injured prone Packers only committed 2 penalties, it was the Eagles who committed 10 penalties. If the Packers offense rebounds (a safe assumption), LB Clay Matthews continues to dominate his opponents, they keep the penalties to a minimum, and the special teams continue to excel, the Packers will remain on pace for an excellent season. My selective play-by-play analysis is after the jump. Star-divide Play-by-play quotes from NFL.com: First Quarter: (13:28) (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb sacked at PHI 24 for -8 yards (52-C.Matthews). Not only was it good to see Matthews get back into action, immediately, after his long preseason layoff, it also was a sign that QB Kevin Kolb was holding the ball a little too long. (10:35) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short left to 89-J.Jones to 50 for 7 yards (21-J.Hanson). I digress on a nice third down reception by WR James Jones, but why do announcers start gushing about a player after one good play? Troy Aikman said Jones was good enough to be a No. 1 or No. 2 WR on many teams. Um, no. This could be a breakout season for Jones, but he's never played like a No. 1 or No. 2 WR so far in his career. (8:33) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep middle intended for 88-J.Finley INTERCEPTED by 21-J.Hanson (27-Q.Mikell) at PHI 30. 21-J.Hanson to PHI 47 for 17 yards (88-J.Finley). (3:41) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass incomplete deep middle to 88-J.Finley. PENALTY on PHI-55-S.Bradley, Defensive Pass Interference, 10 yards, enforced at GB 24 - No Play. Well the Eagles came up with a good strategy to stop TE Jermichael Finley. When he lines up in the slot, just have the tight end in coverage run back and keep up (i.e. don't turn around to see the ball). That forced Rodgers to throw it over the linebacker, which gave SS Quintin Mikell enough time to run from one hashmark to the other and break up the pass. Unfortunately, the safety has to come over to help, because the linebacker isn't looking for the ball (which led to the pass interference call at 3:41) and it also creates another problem for the defense, which I'll get to later. Second Quarter: (15:00) 12-A.Rodgers sacked at PHI 36 for -7 yards (58-T.Cole). Both LT Chad Clifton and RT Mark Tauscher looked bad during the 1st quarter, but this was the last sack of the game for the Eagles. Clifton and Tauscher are not elite players, but they're better than they played in the first quarter. They'll be fine as the season goes on. (11:34) (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb sacked at PHI 30 for -9 yards (90-B.Raji). A small coming out party for NT B.J. Raji. He showed why they moved him to nose tackle. He was too much for the Eagles center to handle, and along with DE Cullen Jenkins and Matthews on stunts up the middle, the Eagles interior line was often schooled. However, their interior offensive line didn't play well during the preseason either. (11:06) (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb pass deep right intended for 10-D.Jackson INTERCEPTED by 21-C.Woodson (38-T.Williams) at GB 35. 21-C.Woodson to GB 45 for 10 yards (18-J.Maclin). Philadelphia challenged the loose ball recovery ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb pass incomplete deep right to 10-D.Jackson (38-T.Williams). That was a terrible decision by Kolb. Maybe he can improve with more experience, but all his pass attempts went towards receivers covered by CB Charles Woodson or CB Tramon Williams, with little success. (8:53) 8-T.Masthay punts 48 yards to PHI 22, Center-61-B.Goode, fair catch by 10-D.Jackson. A quiet victory for the special teams. P Tim Masthay had a couple great punts, and a couple bad ones, but he did a good job keeping WR DeSean Jackson near the sidelines, and the special teams were great in punt coverage. (7:42) (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb scrambles left end to PHI 19 for 1 yard (52-C.Matthews). FUMBLES (52-C.Matthews), ball out of bounds at PHI 19. Kolb has got to get rid of the ball if he wants to survive in the NFL. Maybe QB Donovan McNabb, and certainly Vick, could have ran away from Matthews, but not Kolb. (6:07) 25-R.Grant left end to PHI 37 for 18 yards (27-Q.Mikell). GB-25-R.Grant was injured during the play. His return is Probable. Man! RB Ryan Grant injures his ankle right as he was getting warmed up. (1:52) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short right to 80-D.Driver for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The Replay Assistant challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was Upheld. A great pass and a great catch. It seemed like a quiet day for WR Donald Driver, and this was his big play, but Rodgers targeted him 7 times, 2nd behind only WR Greg Jennings, and Driver caught 5 for 30 yards. He had the opportunities, but he didn't break any big runs. (1:42) (Shotgun) 4-K.Kolb pass incomplete short right to 10-D.Jackson (52-C.Matthews). And the Eagles trainers and coaches let Kolb come back on the field with a concussion. Somehow he managed to complete two attempts. (:03) 2-M.Crosby 56 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-61-B.Goode, Holder-8-T.Masthay. What a great kick, and the type he rarely made last season. Third Quarter: (14:53) 7-M.Vick scrambles left end ran ob at PHI 46 for 23 yards. OK, the defense had a lot of problems with Vick, but as Williams said they didn't game plan for him either. And they couldn't make the adjustment at half because Kolb played the final series of the 1st half. I'm willing to give the defensive coaches a mulligan. It's a rare situation when you switch from a game plan involving a QB in Kolb who is rarely a threat to run to Vick. And I'd probably feel differently if Vick had completed the come back rally. (11:34) 12-A.Rodgers pass incomplete short right to 80-D.Driver (22-A.Samuel). The TD drive almost ended before it began. CB Asante Samuel is an aggressive player who will jump routes, which sometimes leads to big plays for the offense when he misses. That should have been an INT for him, but he couldn't hang on. (10:08) 30-J.Kuhn up the middle to PHI 14 for 12 yards (42-K.Coleman). (8:40) 30-J.Kuhn up the middle for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. I've watched a lot of little handoffs to FB John Kuhn lead to nothing, so I was surprised they worked on this TD drive. (4:29) 25-L.McCoy up the middle for 12 yards, TOUCHDOWN. This one is going to get the defensive coaches fired up. Raji got blocked. LB Nick Barnett got blocked. Collins missed the tackle, and SS Morgan Burnett missed it to. At least four chances to stop him failed. 2-D.Akers kicks 72 yards from PHI 30 to GB -2. 87-J.Nelson to GB 49 for 51 yards (53-M.Fokou). Nice return by WR Jordy Nelson, and surprisingly great special teams blocking. I'm stunned how much better the special teams played in this game vs. last season or even since the preseason. (2:03) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep left to 85-G.Jennings for 32 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Remember back to the INT on the pass intended for Finley. On the replay, you can see the Eagles deep safety jump all over the route to Finley, which he did again in this play. And Rodgers told Jennings to change his route if the safety jumped towards Finley again. Which he did, and led to an easy TD after CB Ellis Hobbs did nothing to slow Jennings down, and failed to keep up with him deep. The safety eventually came back over into the play, but it was far too late. Fourth Quarter: (11:00) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick sacked at GB 17 for -8 yards (58-F.Zombo). (10:29) 7-M.Vick pass deep left to 18-J.Maclin for 17 yards, TOUCHDOWN. A tale of two undrafted rookies. LB Frank Zombo was given a rare opportunity to replace LB Brad Jones, and he responded by running right past LT Jason Peters, and was able to wrap up Vick before he could escape. On the next play, CB Sam Shields was finally tested by the Eagles offensive coaches, and he responded with a circular coverage style that left WR Jeremy Maclin open by a couple steps in the end zone. (9:25) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep middle intended for 80-D.Driver INTERCEPTED by 29-N.Allen at PHI 39. 29-N.Allen to 50 for 11 yards (80-D.Driver). It's too bad because Driver appeared to be open. I can't remember Rodgers ever air mailing a pass that badly before. Maybe the wet ball was causing him some problems. (5:56) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to 10-D.Jackson (36-N.Collins). The Packers defense is on its heels, and Vick fails to find any of the open receivers in time, and they settle for a FG. It had to have been a huge momentum changer. (2:46) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick sacked at PHI 46 for -3 yards (52-C.Matthews). I thought Matthews was going knock another QB out of the game when he threw Vick to the turf. (2:00) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick up the middle to GB 42 for no gain (52-C.Matthews). I'm in awe of Matthews on this 4th down stop. He shook off the block of TE Brent Celek, then RB LeSean McCoy, and then stuffed Vick for no gain. http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2010/9/13/1685274/analysis-packers-defeat-eagles-27 The big picture The kind of adversity that stares every NFL team in the face at some point during a 16-game season was there for the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. Their star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, wasn’t himself. He uncharacteristically threw two interceptions and was sacked three times. Their starting running back, Ryan Grant, left the game late in the second quarter with a badly sprained right ankle and did not return. Two of their four defensive linemen — Justin Harrell (knee) and Cullen Jenkins (broken hand) — left with injuries and only Jenkins returned. Yet the Packers showed their moxie and came up with just enough plays to eke out a victory in place where they hadn’t won in nearly 50 years. That bodes well for a team with lofty expectations. Thumbs up In some ways, Clay Matthews didn’t do his team any favors by knocking Eagles starting quarterback Kevin Kolb out of the game when he hit him from behind late the second quarter. With Kolb sidelined for the second half because of a concussion, Vick gave the Packers fits. He was far more effective than Kolb, who managed just three first-half points in his first game as the Eagles’ full-time starter. In his place, Vick killed the Packers with his feet, rushing for 103 yards on 11 carries, and was even decent through the air, throwing for 175 yards and a touchdown. But when the Packers absolutely had to stop him, they did. Clinging to a 7-point lead, the defense went back to work with 4:13 remaining. Vick drove the Eagles to the Packers’ 42-yard line, where he faced a fourth-and-1. With the 2-minute warning to think about it, Eagles coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg did what all 69,144 fans in the stadium figured: they called for Vick to sneak it. But Matthews capped his monster game by throwing a blocker out of the way and dropping Vick for no gain. Thumbs down Apparently having the starting offensive line work together for the majority of training camp wasn’t enough. The start of this game looked like many of those early-season games last year when Rodgers got beat up. Veteran tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher, the guys who stabilized the line and helped end the sack problems halfway through last season, were the main culprits. Twice, Tauscher gave up sacks, both on bull rushes. He got overpowered by defensive end Juqua Parker on the Packers’ second series of the game, and Parker beat Tauscher with the same move for another sack on the next series. In between, defensive end Trent Cole beat Clifton and dropped Grant for a 2-yard loss on a running play. In the second quarter, Cole beat Clifton around the edge and got the third sack of Rodgers. Things stabilized in the second half, but veterans like Clifton and Tauscher shouldn’t put their quarterback in such danger. Play of the game By now, players should learn to protect the ball when cornerback Charles Woodson is around. But Eagles running back Eldra Buckley didn’t, and he paid the price. On the third play of the third quarter, Woodson punched the ball away from Buckley from behind, and cornerback Tramon Williams recovered it for the Packers. It set up a touchdown that gave the Packers a 20-3 lead. Turning point It was only three points, but when it comes on a franchise-record, 56-yard field goal as time expires in the first half, it’s a big three points. Mason Crosby’s dead-center kick on the final play of the second quarter gave the Packers a huge lift and a 13-3 lead going into the locker room. Did you notice? ♦ In his first NFL regular-season game, Tim Masthay averaged 41.5 yards (net) and 38.0 yards (gross) with 3.8 seconds of hang time on four punts. The first three were perfectly placed toward the sideline, preventing the Eagles’ dangerous return man DeSean Jackson from doing any damage. He fair-caught the first two and had a 4-yard return on the third one. Those three punts averaged 4.04 seconds of hang time. Masthay’s only sub-par punt was his last, a 37-yarder with 2.9 seconds of hang time down the middle that Jackson returned 10 yards. ♦ Jarrett Bush, not Pat Lee, was the dime (sixth) defensive back. ♦ The Packers, who were plagued by penalties last season, had just two for 15 yards against the Eagles. By the numbers 2: Interceptions thrown by Rodgers, who had only seven all of last season. It was just the fifth multi-interception game since he took over as the starter in 2008. 51: Yards Jordy Nelson gained on his longest kickoff return, nearly matching the Packers’ longest return (54 yards) last season. 11/11/1962: Before Sunday, date of the Packers’ last victory in Philadelphia. http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaz...nd-but-don-t-break-against-rejuvenated-Eagles Perhaps it was a blessing the Green Bay Packers outside linebacker missed all four preseason games because of a pulled hamstring. This way, defensive coordinator Dom Capers could wait to unveil his plan to expand Matthews’ role until it really mattered. If Sunday’s game at Philadelphia was any indication, future opponents must account for Matthews like they do with cornerback Charles Woodson. That is, they will have to know where he is at all times. In the Packers’ season-opening 27-20 victory over the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, Capers seemingly used the second-year pro every which way he could. Matthews lined up at his new spot on the left side, but at times he went back to his old spot on the right side. He also lined up in the middle, flip-flopping with an inside linebacker or a defensive end. The result was a near-dominant performance — two sacks, a team-high 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. “I don’t know if it’s ever a blessing but I told him after the Family Night, if he was going to pull a hamstring, that was the time to do it,” Capers said. “We needed him to be back for this opener, and you saw the impact he had on the game for us. So it’s nice to see him back out there. He makes some of those defenses work a little bit better.” Matthews should have had a third sack, but Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb managed to escape and scramble for 1 yard before Matthews stripped the ball away and knocked it out of bounds. His pass breakup should have been an interception and possibly a return for a touchdown, but it slipped through his hands. “I was rushing a little bit on the right, a little bit on the left,” Matthews said of his new role. “And I saw a few eyes (on Eagles’ players) wondering, ‘What’s going on out here?’” Capers didn’t show much in the preseason partly because Matthews was out and partly because he wanted to keep things vanilla, leaving many to wonder just how much this defense had actually improved from last season. But as has been Capers’ style since he took over the Packers’ defense in 2009, he had something special cooked up. Matthews was the cornerstone of the plan. Capers decided to use exclusively sub packages — mostly nickel (with a fifth defensive back) but occasionally dime (with a sixth defensive back) — and didn’t play a single snap of his base. Because of that, he went into the game with only four defensive linemen active. He lost one when Justin Harrell went down with an apparent season-ending knee injury in the second quarter and another temporarily when Cullen Jenkins broke a bone in his left hand before he returned with a club cast. The plan was further challenged when Matthews knocked out Kolb (concussion), which forced the scramble-happy Michael Vick into the game. Matthews chased Vick until the end, finally stopping him on fourth-and-1 at the Packers’ 42-yard line with 2 minutes left to seal the victory. “We were a little nervous coming into this game (because of) the repetitions our defensive unit did not have with everybody there,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “I’ll tell you, I thought it was a very gutty performance by our defense, especially in the second half. Clay’s a big part of that.” Matthews, who had a team-high 10 sacks last season as a rookie when he played exclusively at right outside linebacker, got his first sack in one of Capers’ new formations. Matthews actually lined up as an inside linebacker while Brad Jones played the left outside spot and Jenkins was furthest outside on the right. It came on a third down on the Eagles’ first series and forced a punt. His second sack, which came on the critical final drive for the Eagles, came on a stunt in which he cut inside. He was so gassed after that play that he had to take himself out of the game, but he said his hamstring gave him no trouble. He sat out only one play and returned for the fourth-and-1 sneak. “Everyone was concerned about him playing on the left side,” Capers said. “When you’ve got a guy like him, you’ve got to do with him like what you do with Charles.” Safe to say, Matthews liked his new role. “I’m not trying to sound bad but with the talents I possess, I feel like I can bring a different look wherever I’m coming off, whether it be the right, left or middle,” Matthews said. “Wherever they want to put me, I’ll do my best.” http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaz...0912050/Relentless-Matthews-terrorizes-Eagles “I played terrible, probably about as bad as I can play,” Rodgers said. “It has got to get better. I missed a lot of throws that I could make in my sleep.” His pedestrian 73.1 passer rating wasn’t the worst of his career, but only once last season did he post a lower number. Rodgers threw a pair of interceptions, missed open receivers and struggled to get the offense in sync. Yet the good news for Rodgers is that despite his struggles, the Packers claimed a 27-20 victory in a hostile environment and city where they haven’t won in nearly 50 years. It says something about the Packers’ overall talent and mettle that when their best player came out firing blanks, they still found a way to win. The notion that the offense would be required to carry the team on its shoulders this season was shattered. There is no question that unit, along with Rodgers, will have better days. But it has to be reassuring for the Packers to receive a huge boost from their defense and special teams and prove this is no one-trick pony. “That’s what a team is for,” linebacker Nick Barnett said. “Sometimes a side of the ball or a phase of the game is down, and the other side has to step up and play. I thought we did a good job of doing that.” The much-maligned defense, which for the past eight months has been blamed for the Packers’ first-round playoff exit, came to play in the first half by giving up just three points and three first downs. The major concerns about the pass rush (five sacks) and inexperienced secondary were largely set aside. While Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick made things interesting by helping to generate 17 second-half points, the Packers’ defense shut him down with the game on the line. “We knew we still had a great defense, regardless of what the situation or what the preseason tells you,” receiver Donald Driver said. “Those guys went out and won the game for us and we needed that.” The offensive load was also lightened by the special teams units, which turned in one of their best overall performances in years. Jordy Nelson’s 51-yard kickoff return, for example, set up the offense at midfield for a relatively short touchdown drive. “I remember being in the huddle and I told the guys, ‘If we can get the ball out here every single possession, I mean, this is like stealing,’” receiver Greg Jennings said. The pressure on the offense to score every time it had the ball was lifted. Even if some of the cylinders were knocking, Rodgers guided the Packers to scores on four straight drives — a touchdown and field goal to end the first half and two touchdowns to start the second half. That wound up being enough points to overcome a dreadful fourth quarter that produced 12 total yards and one first down. Rodgers was unhappy about that, but what does it say about a team capable of overcoming such adversity? “It says we have a pretty good team,” Barnett said. “Aaron, he can’t win all the games by himself. We’ve got to be able to adapt and do like we do today, and kind of support him as well as he supports us.” Pretty good might be a major understatement. http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaz...use-column-Packers-survive-off-day-by-offense
