Post Game: Packers Defeat Rams Advance to NFC Championship

a very complete game for the packers other than a couple special teams gaffes. it got a little nerve-wracking there for just a bit, but after the rams pulled within seven points, the defense only allowed 30 more yards on the rams final 14 plays. i think the rams really missed kupp and that may have been the backbreaker for them. like tw said, aaron donald's injury was almost a wash with the packers not having bak. at least the rams had a partial donald. we had no bak. and yet, our offensive line played outstanding football. rodgers commented in his post-game interview that he wasn't touched except on a couple plays where he ran outside the pocket. and speaking of rodgers running - officially, he had four runs for -3 yards. but three of those runs were kneel-downs. and the fourth run was only one yard (but it sure was a long yard) for the td.

after the game, the fox announcers were talking about how pettine was almost fired mid-season, and the changes he made to the defense to improve their performance. like tw, i'm not so sure. i think maybe somebody else came up with those changes. but whatever the source, it has worked so far. honestly, i can't even quantify what those changes are. i think maybe the players are just playing better.

i was so pumped after this game. my adrenaline was really flowing. i hope we can continue this level of play next week and (hopefully) in the super bowl. i don't want the players to be looking ahead, but i think it's okay if we do.
 
A couple of thoughts.
(1) LA was blowing smoke about Donald (so was he) all week about how he was feeling strong, feeling great, ready to go. He only played 55% of defensive snaps, where as he normally plays closer to 85-90%.
(2) Krys Barnes has been a real find as an UDFA to become the starter at ILB. Even though he had to leave the game for a while (broke his thumb?), he came back with a club on his left hand and led the team with 10 tackles.
(3) Rashan Gary is making impact plays on a more regular basis and seems to truly be an ascending player. His sack on 4th down snuffed out any remaining hope of an LA comeback. Last night he had the same stat line as Kenny Clark (3 tackles, 1.5 sacks). Clark gets the public accolades, but Gary’s arrow is definitely pointing up.
 
Some additional thoughts.

Everyone stepped up to the plate and helped this team win. I loved ML's play-calling. I was glad to see that they gave Lazard a second chance and he made the most of it.

Although you would not call the defense great, I thought they played well and did what they needed to do. It's so good to see them playing aggresively and not doing the old bend don't break scheme.

As far as ST. They didn't hurt us except for the messed up point after. At this point I think that's all you can ask for.
 
dannobanano said:
Donald standing with tears on his face at the end tells you all you need to know about the game.
Yes. Even big boys cry sometimes.
He knew he had been taken to the woodshed by #74.
He wanted to win, but GB wanted it more.
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I'm going to disagree a little. GB just outplayed them.
 
dannobanano said:
A couple of thoughts.
(1) LA was blowing smoke about Donald (so was he) all week about how he was feeling strong, feeling great, ready to go. He only played 55% of defensive snaps, where as he normally plays closer to 85-90%.
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Agree, and not only that but he definitely wasn’t right. There was one play early on where Jenkins had him one on one, they locked up and Donald disengaged right as Aaron Jones was running through the hole. A healthy Donald I think lunges and tackles him for a gain of 2-3, but he just watched Jones go by and the gain was 5-6.
 
dannobanano said:
A couple of thoughts.
(1) LA was blowing smoke about Donald (so was he) all week about how he was feeling strong, feeling great, ready to go. He only played 55% of defensive snaps, where as he normally plays closer to 85-90%.
(2) Krys Barnes has been a real find as an UDFA to become the starter at ILB. Even though he had to leave the game for a while (broke his thumb?), he came back with a club on his left hand and led the team with 10 tackles.
(3) Rashan Gary is making impact plays on a more regular basis and seems to truly be an ascending player. His sack on 4th down snuffed out any remaining hope of an LA comeback. Last night he had the same stat line as Kenny Clark (3 tackles, 1.5 sacks). Clark gets the public accolades, but Gary’s arrow is definitely pointing up.
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i like barnes a lot. an undrafted rookie wearing the green dot on defense. 48 solo tackles and 32 assists in his rookie season. the packers got a steal picking him up as udfa. the fact that he wasn't invited to the combine is a bit of a head-scratcher. and the covid shut down his pro day, so he flew under everyone's radar. i think we may have to thank jordan love for this one. love and barnes were working out together in the lead-up to the draft, and they played together in high school.
 
one more thingon krys barnes:
just ran across this article written in february 2020 - well before the draft.


excerpts:

. . . From what many experts are saying, Green Bay is going to address the middle linebacker position in the upcoming draft. With more pressing needs the Packers will need to address early in the draft, they will need to find a diamond in the rough in the middle to late rounds. The diamond that should take a look at is middle linebacker out of UCLA, Krys Barnes.

. . . Barnes’ breakout season for UCLA came in 2018 when he racked up 85 tackles, 10 for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pick, and 6 pass deflections. He followed that up in 2019 with 72 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, 4 sacks, 1 pick, 7 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble.

The best part about Krys Barnes is that he is a fantastic athlete. For his size, he’s extremely fast and quick. Some would say his athleticism is the exact opposite of Blake Martinez’s. Barnes also has great instincts, he has a knack for diagnosing plays and being able to blow them up. The biggest negative when it comes to Barnes is that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. He does everything well like tackle, blitz, and cover but he doesn’t excel in one area. However, some may look at this as a positive considering many of Green Bay’s current linebackers are very one dimensional.
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Matt LaFleur becomes only the 7th coach in Super Bowl era to reach back to back conf championships in his first two years.
 
The Good
  • Aaron Rodgers, yep it’s that simple
  • The OL was the difference, they dominated
  • Game ball to Adam Stenavich, maybe the most important guy on that staff. He’s done an incredible job
  • Gary while not spectacular continues to be steady
  • The defense has been the easy whipping boy but they have played really good ball the last 4-5 weeks
The Bad
  • Special teams are far from special
  • Lazard has got to catch that. Zero excuses
The Rest
  • We are playing in the NFCCG








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Packinatl said:
Game ball to Adam Stenavich, maybe the most important guy on that staff. He’s done an incredible job
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could see him possibly getting a promotion with the packers or getting taken away from us as a oc somewhere else. that would suck. he has done an outstanding job all season with all the changes we have had to make along the ol.
 
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