Game thread: Minnesota vs. Green Bay, 9/16/18

[nodakfan17]

Minnesota had an extra possession too. They won the coin toss in OT and effectively had two possessions to the Packers’ one. That was one of 100 different wrinkles in the game. Some favored the Packers. Some favored the Vikings.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I thought that game was over about seven times, the last of which in our favor was our possession in OT. Rodgers mishandling that fake killed the drive. We were well on our way to a chip shot field goal and then did the one thing we could not do, essentially get sacked twice.

 

It was an awful performance.

[nodakfan17]

Aaron Jones is back next week. Rodgers will be closer to full strength. We haven’t seen the offense at its best.

[adambr2]

Manageable upcoming schedule. @Redskins, Bills, @Lions, 49ers. Absolutely need to head into the bye at 4-1-1 at worst, it gets brutal for awhile after the bye.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

At least one of the teams in that lot will be like 4-1 when we play them, my money is on SF. And one of those brutal teams will have collapsed by then.

[pacopete4]

I honestly see no reason why we can't win every single one of those games before heading into the bye. Will we? Obviously remains to be seen.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

We can lose to anyone and have been "that" team for like 5 years now. Any middling journeyman QB can put up 500 yards on us and that's all it takes. There's not a game on the schedule I pencil in as a win. We haven't been able to close like that for several years now.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

This is a weird feeling. I don't feel crappy like they lost, but don't feel great like they won. Just kinda blah.

 

The defense was really disappointing today in the second half. They played well in the first half. But after King went down with his groin strain, they started playing a lot more zone, and Cousins was destroying them with underneath throws. They the defense just laid a big fat egg at the end to let the Vikings get back into a game they had no business getting back into. The pass rush is still a major issue. Lots of guys around cousins, but ver few closed the deal.

 

Just a really frustrating game to watch, as they beat the Vikings for about 58 minutes. Watching the game in the second half, it wouldn't have surprised me to see the camera pan to Dom Capers sitting up in the coaching booth. I'm waiting for Pettine's aggressive defense to show itself. A lot fo playing on their heels today.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

How can you have a pass rush when it's a penalty to blow the QB a kiss? The only defense you can hope for in this trash era of "football" is hurrying a throw and getting a pick.

 

Oh wait, they did that. Also a penalty.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

We can lose to anyone and have been "that" team for like 5 years now. Any middling journeyman QB can put up 500 yards on us and that's all it takes. There's not a game on the schedule I pencil in as a win. We haven't been able to close like that for several years now.

 

You just described roughly 90 percent of the teams in the NFL. We are pretty much two weeks in, and the best teams in the NFL look like either the Bucs, Chiefs or Rams (and that isn't going to last). A few others look tough, but most are mediocre. The NFL has wanted parity, and they get it. 25 equal teams with a few crappy ones at the bottom.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Would be fun to find a new way to lose that doesn't involve the other team's QB throwing for four benjamins.

[bjkrautk]

Anyone know the ETA on Josh Jones coming back from injury...because Kentrell Bryce did not have a good day in coverage.

[DHonks]

On the hit that was called against Minnesota earlier in the game, the player sort of picked up Rodgers and dropped him. The one by Clay had nothing wrong at all.

[nodakfan17]

Manageable upcoming schedule. @Redskins, Bills, @Lions, 49ers. Absolutely need to head into the bye at 4-1-1 at worst, it gets brutal for awhile after the bye.

Indeed. There’s a real possibility they go 1-4 after the bye: @Rams, @Patriots, Dolphins, @Seahawks, @Vikings. At least Seattle probably isn’t the dominant team they once were and we’ll be going into Minnesota coming off the mini bye.

[docduany]

Well Tony Corente and Co can make plans for February. No way those clowns are working the Super Bowl. I’m not a officiating whiner , but that was a terrible job. Both teams had ridiculous roughing the passer penalties. Geronimo Alisons knee is still down on the Lambeau turf. How Senjeo wasn’t ejected for targeting is unfathomable. The non PI on Jimmy Graham. The offensive PI on Adams when Rhodes just ran past him. I’m seriously contemplating finding Mr. Corente’s address and sending him a very dissapointing letter. Nothing this bad since the fail Mary game, and at least that was only one play!

[PeaveyFury]

There are SOOOOOO many subjective calls in the NFL, and it feels like the referees don't even know what the rules are at times. That's probably at least partially due to them changing every year, it seems. There really should be something to override a referee's bad call on subjective plays when the game is on the line.

 

It's a real shame that some refs consistently seem to get it wrong, and Tony Corente has been one of them....

[homer]

I’m seriously contemplating finding Mr. Corente’s address and sending him a very dissapointing letter. Nothing this bad since the fail Mary game, and at least that was only one play!

 

 

Also replacement refs

[Fear The Chorizo]

Football is quickly becoming a very difficult to watch sport and walk away with any sense of being entertained - after each pass play I spend more time looking at the live score line to see if a 'Flag' symbol shows up indicating at least one penalty on the play. Every incomplete or intercepted pass I'm looking on the field more for yellow than what the down and distance is, because the rules are so ridiculously slanted towards the offense that you just assume a defender did something wrong to cause a bad pass from a qb.

 

If the NFL wants to stick with these insane rules that basically prevent a defender from putting a good hit on a quarterback, just do us all a favor and get rid of the O and D lines and play 7 on 7. Here's a thought - if you don't want the QBs getting hit so much, maybe do a better job at developing and putting a premium financially on quality offensive linemen who can block somebody instead of always having around 2 starting positions manned by guys just off the practice squad or 5th round rookies in order to afford paying your QB, WRs, and pass rushers most of your cap room. That's not a Packer-specific issue, it's league-wide. I also think the NFL should adopt collegiate rules for secondary play if they are going to be so ticky tack at times on PI calls yet still let crazy amounts of contact go. Get rid of the 5 yard chucking rule and allow cornerbacks to maintain contact with receivers anywhere on the field until the ball is in the air - provided they aren't holding them. Otherwise, defense is basically just something preventing a team from scoring on every play - not a unit that can actually dictate the outcome of games.

[stoutdude04]

I am not a Packer fan, so maybe(probably not) my opinion does or doesn't matter to some.

 

I watched the replay of the Matthews hit and I am amazed that was called. Might as well put flags on the QBs at this point.

[pacopete4]

I am not a Packer fan, so maybe(probably not) my opinion does or doesn't matter to some.

 

I watched the replay of the Matthews hit and I am amazed that was called. Might as well put flags on the QBs at this point.

 

This was my facebook post yesterday. My first post on that piece of social media in probably six months.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

At this point you really have to wonder if flags are the end game.

 

Doing that overnight would cause a huge uproar, but making the game harder to watch slowly and then fixing it by bringing flags in is probably a better strategy.

 

At this point at least the QB wearing flags would be better than we have.

[nodakfan17]

There is a simple solution. Coaches should be able to challenge nearly everything (including penalties). To keep the game moving, eliminate automatic reviews and give coaches only 2 challenges each. I’m willing to accept the human officiating element on most plays, but there should be a way for egregious calls to be rectified.

[pacopete4]

Why have it fall on coaches? The NFL is rich enough to employ an official from the sky in every single game played. Heck they could have an entire crew that could work to buzz in on plays that need a better judgement. This wouldn't slow the game down much. A simple communication back to the officials and play on.

[nodakfan17]

^^^

 

Because a coach should be able to stop and say ‘that’s not right.’ What happens if the extra official in the sky doesn’t want to review the play?

[FVBrewerFan]

What makes you think a review would have changed the ruling on the field for the Matthews play? Replay is horrible, get rid of it, we don't need more. If you start including penalties, there's a penalty on every play that could be called.