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That was not quite the dominating performance I was hoping for. The offense looked good driving up and down the field, but the defense was absolutely shredded by Matt Forte. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry on his way to racking up 141 yards on the ground (and another 25 through the air).
Late in the game, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman couldn’t stop talking about how great Jay Cutler looked. “He looks so in control. He’s going to be great in this offense.” I thought I had stumbled into some sort of alternate dimension. Or maybe they were just playing the calls from a previous game? Because Cutler looked pretty bad in this game. He ended up 18/36 for 225 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception for a QB rating of 67.5. That is not a good game. Those numbers look even worse when you consider fact that Sam Shields was playing in roller skates and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix couldn’t tackle stationary objects.
I usually watch the entire game with the All 22 film and pick out the plays that jump out to me. Due to me travelling for work this week (as I write this, I’m sitting in a possibly haunted hotel in Milwaukee), I had to switch up my usual routine. Instead, I made a note of plays during the game that stuck out to me and just watched those with All 22. I’m sure I missed some very good plays this way, but it could not be helped this week.
Also, due to some feedback last season, I’m planning on bringing you gifs instead of a series of pictures. Let me know if you like this, or if I should just go back to pictures. I feel like I have more to say about pictures (usually looking at pre-snap alignment and setting the stage that way), but gifs allow you to see the part of the play unfolding that I want to talk about. I may try to do a kind of hybrid, but I’m not sure.
Last note before moving on. The hotel I’m staying at has limited wifi (probably all the ghosts), so I had to grab these gifs while on short breaks during my meetings. Because of this, I didn’t get a chance to look at all the plays I wanted to look at. For example, I wanted to take a look at some of Sam Shields’ failures, but I wasn’t able to get to any of those plays. I do have a couple of words about this in my Random Thoughts, so he’s not completely off the hook.
Let’s get to the film. As always, stats and ratings from Pro Football Focus.
THE UGLY
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix [21] starts in the upper right of the screen. At the snap, he falls off to cover Martellus Bennett [83]. After being flushed from the pocket, Jay Cutler [6] takes off running to the right. Clinton-Dix plays the angle pretty well, but, as he is wont to do, he drops his head when he lunges to tackle. Cutler simply cuts back inside, Clinton-Dix whiffs, and Cutler picks up some more yards.
I put this here in The Ugly because of what this play represents. Clinton-Dix had issues with tackling throughout his rookie season. I kept saying that it was something he would figure out. “Once he gets a year under his belt, he’ll improve that area of his game.” Judging by his performance in this game – as well as the preseason – that does not appear to be the case. I’m not saying that he is incapable of improving, but this is not a good sign. I have high hopes for Clinton-Dix, so I really want to see him improve this aspect of his game sooner rather than later.
THE BAD
I felt like the lone voice in the wilderness who was excited about Sean Richardson [28] coming back. I still think he can be a good player this year, but this was not a good play, and it shows one of the reasons why Matt Forte [22] was able to run for so many yards. Forte initially looks to be stopped in the backfield, thanks to the efforts of B.J. Raji [90] and Mike Daniels [76] collapsing the line, with Julius Peppers [56] and Clay Matthews [52] shutting down the edge and Sam Barrington [58] plugging a gap.
Forte cuts back to the other side and finds Richardson totally out of position. Instead of holding down the gap, he pursued too far to the middle of the line. When Forte cut back, he found a large hole where Richardson should have been. This could have been a no gain. Instead, on just the second play of the game, Forte picked up 22 yards and set the stage for what would be a huge day for him.
Plays like this show how much the Packers defense missed Morgan Burnett. If that had been Burnett in place of Richardson, it’s unlikely Forte would have had such a big gain on this play.
THE GOOD
Apparently I’m feeling optimistic tonight, as the majority of the plays this week are going to fit into this category.
Jayrone Elliott [91] made huge waves in last year’s preseason, but never really got to see much game action. After another good preseason this year, he’s finally getting a chance to show what he can do. He didn’t play too much (he only got 19 snaps in this game), but he made the most of his opportunities, racking up 2 QB hurries and 1 QB hit in those snaps, for a PFF grade of 1.5.
This play is his QB hit. He plays this perfectly. He crashes inside in case of a handoff. When Cutler pulls the ball out and runs the bootleg, Elliott is right there. He changes direction effortlessly and takes a great angle to Cutler. He not only sticks with Cutler, but he closes fast and forces an off-balance throw (or, as Cutler likes to call it, “a regular throw.”). This was a great play by a player I’m hoping to see more of. I’m a big fan of Elliott.
Speaking of guys I’m a big fan of, here is B.J. Raji [90] absolutely destroying Will Montgomery. Montgomery ranked pretty well as a center over the past few years, so it’s not like Raji is beating up on scrubs. This is the guy I thought we were going to see last season, only to see that season ended with an injury before it started. He doesn’t get to Cutler here, but he is able to collapse the middle of the line single-handedly, and allows Mike Daniels [76] to loop around to the middle and force Cutler to throw the ball before he is ready. Let’s all hope that this B.J. Raji shows up every game.
This is Julius Peppers’ [56] sack of Cutler in the first quarter. Look at how he keeps Kyle Long [75] at arm’s length, rips through, dips his shoulder and gets to Cutler. He gets held after dipping his shoulder and still makes it to the quarterback.
Peppers played 71.4% of the snaps in this game. He seemed to do great, but I wouldn’t mind seeing that number go down a bit.
The jury is still out on Nate Palmer [51], but, with Barrington’s injury, we’re likely to see more of him going forward. This play shows a little of what he can do when he’s at his best. He flows with the line, avoids a block from Matt Slauson [68], shoots the gap and takes down the ballcarrier in the backfield.
I don’t think he’s the long-term solution, but plays like this make me want to believe.
You knew I was going to look at this play.
I watched this game as I pretty much every Packers game: with two of my brothers and a good friend. This drive started with 6:05 left in the game. Someone said, “You know, it’s about time for a Cutler interception, isn’t it?” Sure enough, this happened a few plays later. Just like clockwork.
Matthews drops back and reads this perfectly. How could he not? Cutler never looked at anyone else. Matthews makes that play look so easy.
You know what my favorite part of this play is? Watching Marquess Wilson [10] coming into the frame from the left. Since Matthews was fading towards Bennett, Wilson was wide open on the back side. But Cutler never even looked his way. Thank you, Jay Cutler.
Let’s finish this off by taking a glance at a couple fun offensive plays.
All I really want to do it just sit down for an hour and watch nothing but this play. It’s perfect. It’s such a quick little read and flip by Aaron Rodgers [12], but it’s not an easy flip. Jared Allen [69] has pretty good coverage on Eddie Lacy [27], so Rodgers puts it out far enough that either Lacy will make the play or no one will. That’s part of what makes this play so amazing: it looks crazy, but there’s not much risk involved. It was a quick decision made by Rodgers, but he was smart about it.
And what a great play by Lacy. Completely extending and pulling the ball in with one hand. It’s such a ridiculous play and I love it so much.
Let’s end this by watching Aaron Rodgers juke Pernell McPhee [92] out of his shoes twice (thrice?) on the same play, on his way to a very entertaining 1 yard gain.
Random thoughts:
– The highest graded offensive player was Aaron Rodgers (6.0). He completed 78.3% of his passes and never looked anything other than totally in control. Here’s my favorite stat of his from this game: when blitzed, Rodgers was 5/5 for 59 yards and a touchdown.
– The lowest graded offensive player was David Bakhtiari (-2.0). He actually graded as the best pass blocker on the day (1.5), but took a major hit in the run blocking game (-1.7).
– The highest rated defensive player was Julius Peppers (3.8). He was great against the run (1.6) and wreaked havoc against the pass (2.0), racking up 2 sacks and 1 hurry.
– The lowest rated defensive player was Nick Perry (-4.3), who was equally bad against the run (-1.2) and the pass (-1.2). My prediction that he would lead the team in sacks this season may have been a little too bold.
– Last season, DuJuan Harris and Micah Hyde combined for a kickoff return average of 21.4 yards, with a long return of 41 yards. The highest return average in any game last season was 29 yards. In this game, Ty Montgomery returned three kickoffs for an average of 35.3 yards and a long of 46 yards. He only saw the field for 1 snap offensively, but he already looks like a difference maker in the return game.
– When throwing at Sam Shields, Jay Cutler was 7/9 for 105 yards, for a QB rating of 115.3. When throwing at Damarious Randall, Jay Cutler was 0/5 for a QB rating of 39.6. In my Player to Player article for this game I was curious how the young defensive backs would look. I should have been more worried about how Shields was going to look.
– Corey Linsley had a great game as a run blocker (2.8). When running behind Linsley, Eddie Lacy gained 30 yards on 6 carries.
– When throwing to James Jones, Aaron Rodgers was 4/4 for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns, for a QB rating of 158.3.
Albums listened to: The School – Wasting Away and Wondering; Eli Na – Nature is My Mother Now; Telekinesis – Ad Infinitum; The Wonder Years – No Closer to Heaven; Beach House – Depression Cherry; Big Deal – June Gloom
Thank you for reading. Dusty Evely is a featured writer for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow him on Twitter @DustyEvely. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Continue reading...
Late in the game, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman couldn’t stop talking about how great Jay Cutler looked. “He looks so in control. He’s going to be great in this offense.” I thought I had stumbled into some sort of alternate dimension. Or maybe they were just playing the calls from a previous game? Because Cutler looked pretty bad in this game. He ended up 18/36 for 225 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception for a QB rating of 67.5. That is not a good game. Those numbers look even worse when you consider fact that Sam Shields was playing in roller skates and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix couldn’t tackle stationary objects.
I usually watch the entire game with the All 22 film and pick out the plays that jump out to me. Due to me travelling for work this week (as I write this, I’m sitting in a possibly haunted hotel in Milwaukee), I had to switch up my usual routine. Instead, I made a note of plays during the game that stuck out to me and just watched those with All 22. I’m sure I missed some very good plays this way, but it could not be helped this week.
Also, due to some feedback last season, I’m planning on bringing you gifs instead of a series of pictures. Let me know if you like this, or if I should just go back to pictures. I feel like I have more to say about pictures (usually looking at pre-snap alignment and setting the stage that way), but gifs allow you to see the part of the play unfolding that I want to talk about. I may try to do a kind of hybrid, but I’m not sure.
Last note before moving on. The hotel I’m staying at has limited wifi (probably all the ghosts), so I had to grab these gifs while on short breaks during my meetings. Because of this, I didn’t get a chance to look at all the plays I wanted to look at. For example, I wanted to take a look at some of Sam Shields’ failures, but I wasn’t able to get to any of those plays. I do have a couple of words about this in my Random Thoughts, so he’s not completely off the hook.
Let’s get to the film. As always, stats and ratings from Pro Football Focus.
THE UGLY
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix [21] starts in the upper right of the screen. At the snap, he falls off to cover Martellus Bennett [83]. After being flushed from the pocket, Jay Cutler [6] takes off running to the right. Clinton-Dix plays the angle pretty well, but, as he is wont to do, he drops his head when he lunges to tackle. Cutler simply cuts back inside, Clinton-Dix whiffs, and Cutler picks up some more yards.
I put this here in The Ugly because of what this play represents. Clinton-Dix had issues with tackling throughout his rookie season. I kept saying that it was something he would figure out. “Once he gets a year under his belt, he’ll improve that area of his game.” Judging by his performance in this game – as well as the preseason – that does not appear to be the case. I’m not saying that he is incapable of improving, but this is not a good sign. I have high hopes for Clinton-Dix, so I really want to see him improve this aspect of his game sooner rather than later.
THE BAD
I felt like the lone voice in the wilderness who was excited about Sean Richardson [28] coming back. I still think he can be a good player this year, but this was not a good play, and it shows one of the reasons why Matt Forte [22] was able to run for so many yards. Forte initially looks to be stopped in the backfield, thanks to the efforts of B.J. Raji [90] and Mike Daniels [76] collapsing the line, with Julius Peppers [56] and Clay Matthews [52] shutting down the edge and Sam Barrington [58] plugging a gap.
Forte cuts back to the other side and finds Richardson totally out of position. Instead of holding down the gap, he pursued too far to the middle of the line. When Forte cut back, he found a large hole where Richardson should have been. This could have been a no gain. Instead, on just the second play of the game, Forte picked up 22 yards and set the stage for what would be a huge day for him.
Plays like this show how much the Packers defense missed Morgan Burnett. If that had been Burnett in place of Richardson, it’s unlikely Forte would have had such a big gain on this play.
THE GOOD
Apparently I’m feeling optimistic tonight, as the majority of the plays this week are going to fit into this category.
Jayrone Elliott [91] made huge waves in last year’s preseason, but never really got to see much game action. After another good preseason this year, he’s finally getting a chance to show what he can do. He didn’t play too much (he only got 19 snaps in this game), but he made the most of his opportunities, racking up 2 QB hurries and 1 QB hit in those snaps, for a PFF grade of 1.5.
This play is his QB hit. He plays this perfectly. He crashes inside in case of a handoff. When Cutler pulls the ball out and runs the bootleg, Elliott is right there. He changes direction effortlessly and takes a great angle to Cutler. He not only sticks with Cutler, but he closes fast and forces an off-balance throw (or, as Cutler likes to call it, “a regular throw.”). This was a great play by a player I’m hoping to see more of. I’m a big fan of Elliott.
Speaking of guys I’m a big fan of, here is B.J. Raji [90] absolutely destroying Will Montgomery. Montgomery ranked pretty well as a center over the past few years, so it’s not like Raji is beating up on scrubs. This is the guy I thought we were going to see last season, only to see that season ended with an injury before it started. He doesn’t get to Cutler here, but he is able to collapse the middle of the line single-handedly, and allows Mike Daniels [76] to loop around to the middle and force Cutler to throw the ball before he is ready. Let’s all hope that this B.J. Raji shows up every game.
This is Julius Peppers’ [56] sack of Cutler in the first quarter. Look at how he keeps Kyle Long [75] at arm’s length, rips through, dips his shoulder and gets to Cutler. He gets held after dipping his shoulder and still makes it to the quarterback.
Peppers played 71.4% of the snaps in this game. He seemed to do great, but I wouldn’t mind seeing that number go down a bit.
The jury is still out on Nate Palmer [51], but, with Barrington’s injury, we’re likely to see more of him going forward. This play shows a little of what he can do when he’s at his best. He flows with the line, avoids a block from Matt Slauson [68], shoots the gap and takes down the ballcarrier in the backfield.
I don’t think he’s the long-term solution, but plays like this make me want to believe.
You knew I was going to look at this play.
I watched this game as I pretty much every Packers game: with two of my brothers and a good friend. This drive started with 6:05 left in the game. Someone said, “You know, it’s about time for a Cutler interception, isn’t it?” Sure enough, this happened a few plays later. Just like clockwork.
Matthews drops back and reads this perfectly. How could he not? Cutler never looked at anyone else. Matthews makes that play look so easy.
You know what my favorite part of this play is? Watching Marquess Wilson [10] coming into the frame from the left. Since Matthews was fading towards Bennett, Wilson was wide open on the back side. But Cutler never even looked his way. Thank you, Jay Cutler.
Let’s finish this off by taking a glance at a couple fun offensive plays.
All I really want to do it just sit down for an hour and watch nothing but this play. It’s perfect. It’s such a quick little read and flip by Aaron Rodgers [12], but it’s not an easy flip. Jared Allen [69] has pretty good coverage on Eddie Lacy [27], so Rodgers puts it out far enough that either Lacy will make the play or no one will. That’s part of what makes this play so amazing: it looks crazy, but there’s not much risk involved. It was a quick decision made by Rodgers, but he was smart about it.
And what a great play by Lacy. Completely extending and pulling the ball in with one hand. It’s such a ridiculous play and I love it so much.
Let’s end this by watching Aaron Rodgers juke Pernell McPhee [92] out of his shoes twice (thrice?) on the same play, on his way to a very entertaining 1 yard gain.
Random thoughts:
– The highest graded offensive player was Aaron Rodgers (6.0). He completed 78.3% of his passes and never looked anything other than totally in control. Here’s my favorite stat of his from this game: when blitzed, Rodgers was 5/5 for 59 yards and a touchdown.
– The lowest graded offensive player was David Bakhtiari (-2.0). He actually graded as the best pass blocker on the day (1.5), but took a major hit in the run blocking game (-1.7).
– The highest rated defensive player was Julius Peppers (3.8). He was great against the run (1.6) and wreaked havoc against the pass (2.0), racking up 2 sacks and 1 hurry.
– The lowest rated defensive player was Nick Perry (-4.3), who was equally bad against the run (-1.2) and the pass (-1.2). My prediction that he would lead the team in sacks this season may have been a little too bold.
– Last season, DuJuan Harris and Micah Hyde combined for a kickoff return average of 21.4 yards, with a long return of 41 yards. The highest return average in any game last season was 29 yards. In this game, Ty Montgomery returned three kickoffs for an average of 35.3 yards and a long of 46 yards. He only saw the field for 1 snap offensively, but he already looks like a difference maker in the return game.
– When throwing at Sam Shields, Jay Cutler was 7/9 for 105 yards, for a QB rating of 115.3. When throwing at Damarious Randall, Jay Cutler was 0/5 for a QB rating of 39.6. In my Player to Player article for this game I was curious how the young defensive backs would look. I should have been more worried about how Shields was going to look.
– Corey Linsley had a great game as a run blocker (2.8). When running behind Linsley, Eddie Lacy gained 30 yards on 6 carries.
– When throwing to James Jones, Aaron Rodgers was 4/4 for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns, for a QB rating of 158.3.
Albums listened to: The School – Wasting Away and Wondering; Eli Na – Nature is My Mother Now; Telekinesis – Ad Infinitum; The Wonder Years – No Closer to Heaven; Beach House – Depression Cherry; Big Deal – June Gloom
Thank you for reading. Dusty Evely is a featured writer for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow him on Twitter @DustyEvely. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Continue reading...
