The Packers finally got back in the win column. While some writers are blathering on about replacing Mike McCarthy (me!), the Packer coaching staff put together a winning formula for this week. Here’s a breakdown of my thoughts on the game:
The Good
Aaron Rodgers looked like the best Quarterback in football. Rodgers has quietly been brilliant over the last month. If the Packers defense had done its part, the Packers would be in a tighter race with the Lions and Vikings, and Rodgers would be in the MVP conversation.
Davante Adams looked great. While Jordy continues to struggle to regain his explosiveness, Adams has become Rodgers go-to guy. He showed explosiveness and crisp route running last night. Adams always had a knack for making the spectacular play (and he certainly did that), but he’s been much more consistent on making the routine ones lately.
Mike McCarthy had a great gameplan. The short passing game is back! The Packers threw quick outs, rubs, and slants, and consistently let their receivers catch and run. In turn, that set up the deep passing game. My hope is this game planning continues because if teams have to prepare for the short game, deep passes are finally going to open up.
Damarious Randall helped the secondary. I’m not going to pretend Randall had a great game, but he was solid enough to allow Rollins and Gunter to play roles they are more comfortable with. Randall’s biggest play may have actually been a routine tackle that knocked Jordan Matthews out of the game for the Eagles. Their offense was not the same after he left. The coverage was good enough to allow the pass rush to get home on several occasions.
The Bad
The Eagles secondary is bad. It will be interesting to see if the Packers can continue their success in the passing game against the Texans. Philly has a fearsome pass rush, but their CBs are not capable of staying with most receivers..
Aaron Rodgers hamstring injury. While he was quick to dismiss it after the game, any type of injury to #12 is bad news. It’s especially concerning because his mobility has been such a huge part of the offense’s success this season. Hopefully the quick passing game makes the injury less of a factor.
The defense still can’t cover a RB. Darren Sproles was seemingly open at will. If the Eagles had taken better advantage of that matchup they may have had more success. The Packers have to cover better out of the backfield with Lamar Miller coming to town next week.
Overall, it’s always great to get a conference road win. I’m still tempering my excitement about the win, because the Eagles shot themselves in the foot with penalties and were pretty weak at WR and CB. It’s still great to have 6 days to celebrate a win and think about the ways to catch the Lions.
Andrew Mertig is a a lifelong Packers fan and draft enthusiast. He has covered the NFL draft for radio and television stations in Green Bay. He is currently a host of the Pack-A-Day podcast and a writer for PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewmertig
4 responses to “Breaking Down Green Bay vs Philadelphia”
Drafting a running back should be priority one in 2017. I think Lacy should stay but Starks time is up. Putting a running game with this offense is all we need. Defensively we all know the backend needs fixing. I also agree it’s time for a new defensive coordinator. McCarthy is probably going to stay but Mark Murphy has to see our defense needs more then physical help,we also need new scheme and a better coverage over the middle.
Starks has taken a big step back. I like the idea of seeing what Michael has to offer for the rest of the season, but a true pass catching back would be great.
I’m sure Ryan will be back to play against the Texans.I will admit this though, McCarthy’s strength is his play calling. In order for Rudgers’ prediction to succeed, they’d need to pressure all quarterbacks the way they did against Wentz.
I would agree. They need the back end to hold up in coverage to give Perry, CM3, Peppers, Daniels, and company to get home. Last night was a good start, but against a very average receiving group.