Game 6: Packers @ Texans - Sunday, October 25th, Noon CT

[yourout]

Just when I thought it was safe to say the special teams had improved.

[FVBrewerFan]

Whoever Henry Black is, thete is your dagger.

[PinaMadness]

There's your dagger.

[adambr2]

Very poor special teams today.

[nodakfan17]

Very poor special teams today.

It just seams like special teams have been a net negative for a decade.

[yourout]

Kitty's with a last play win to get to 3-3

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Atlanta is just unbelievable.

[CheezWizHed]

Barnes continues to impress at MLB. Martin looked good also in replacing Summers who replaced Barnes. Hopefully, Barnes' injury is something minor. It would be nice to see Martin/Barnes out there together.

 

After a week of complaining about Amos and PSmith, they both looked better. Who do we complain about next?

 

Jackson also looked better this week too. Still very active in run support and running to the FB, but I didn't see any big gaffes. I wouldn't be surprised if he is starting at CB next year (assuming King leaves in FA).

 

Turner held up well at LT too. Wagner vs. JJ was interesting from a Badger fan perspective, but he was a bit of a turnstile out there. I've ragged on Turner this offseason based on his play at RG last year, but he has been better at tackle.

 

DL was also pretty solid. No major standout, but Adam, Wynn, Lowry, and Keke were solid.

[nodakfan17]

Atlanta is just unbelievable.

I’m at a loss for how a team with a former MVP QB can be so bad. Rodgers bottomed out at 6-9-1.

[HiAndTight]

Barnes continues to impress at MLB. Martin looked good also in replacing Summers who replaced Barnes. Hopefully, Barnes' injury is something minor. It would be nice to see Martin/Barnes out there together.

 

After a week of complaining about Amos and PSmith, they both looked better. Who do we complain about next?

 

Jackson also looked better this week too. Still very active in run support and running to the FB, but I didn't see any big gaffes. I wouldn't be surprised if he is starting at CB next year (assuming King leaves in FA).

 

Turner held up well at LT too. Wagner vs. JJ was interesting from a Badger fan perspective, but he was a bit of a turnstile out there. I've ragged on Turner this offseason based on his play at RG last year, but he has been better at tackle.

 

DL was also pretty solid. No major standout, but Adam, Wynn, Lowry, and Keke were solid.

 

 

Martin made an incredible play early in the game. Might have been the 1st or 2nd series, but he came in, blew up a guard and hit the back about 2-3 yards deep. I had to rewind that a couple of times as it was especially impressive.

 

 

This was mostly just a game to survive without Bahk and Jones and Gary and others banged up...

 

The only complaint, when we have games like we did last week and we point out that Rodgers throws it to Adams too much, this felt like an opportunity to get other guys involved. Obviously when Adams is wideopen..throw it to Adams, but there were several plays he had other guys open. That and they didn't put the game away as early as they could have. Those are the only two minor little "critiques" I'd have.

 

Otherwise...they looked fine. Redmond and Jackson looked pretty good filling in for Savage and King. Sullivan looks like Kevin King with less athletic ability, more toughness and better anticipation. I don't know if he'll hold up outside, but he's been pretty damn good this year.

[nodakfan17]

I’m really pleased with the short-handed road win.

 

One complaint (and this is a reach) is that Dillon only had 11 yards on 5 carries. I was hoping he’d be go for more than 2 yards per carry. He had a nice 5-yard gain early in the game and then went silent. Oh well, that’s a small sample. I was happy with Williams in his spot start.

[CheezWizHed]

Martin made an incredible play early in the game. Might have been the 1st or 2nd series, but he came in, blew up a guard and hit the back about 2-3 yards deep. I had to rewind that a couple of times as it was especially impressive.

 

I didn't see him play until the second half. I'll have to go back and look again. I was trying to keep an eye out for him. One thing I noticed about him (and Jackson too) is that they attack the ball.. even if they aren't the first one there. Love to see the hustle!

 

Seems like Dillon's rushes were pretty vanilla, up the middle rushes. He also seemed to be somewhat tentative - often having both arms wrapped around the ball. Not that I want him to fumble, but you take away a lot of flexibility and mobility that way.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I’m really pleased with the short-handed road win.

 

One complaint (and this is a reach) is that Dillon only had 11 yards on 5 carries. I was hoping he’d be go for more than 2 yards per carry. He had a nice 5-yard gain early in the game and then went silent. Oh well, that’s a small sample. I was happy with Williams in his spot start.

 

He is a workhorse that got as many as 40 attempts in a game at BC but they were routinely pushing him into the high 20s and 30s. He needs a lot of work. He's not the type of back you use to spell and give 5 random carries to, the problem is that's often what you have to be first to get a shot in the NFL.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I’m really pleased with the short-handed road win.

 

One complaint (and this is a reach) is that Dillon only had 11 yards on 5 carries. I was hoping he’d be go for more than 2 yards per carry. He had a nice 5-yard gain early in the game and then went silent. Oh well, that’s a small sample. I was happy with Williams in his spot start.

 

He is a workhorse that got as many as 40 attempts in a game at BC but they were routinely pushing him into the high 20s and 30s. He needs a lot of work. He's not the type of back you use to spell and give 5 random carries to, the problem is that's often what you have to be first to get a shot in the NFL.

 

I think they'll keep working him in as the season goes along. 6 of their last 10 games are in Lambeau, in likely crappy field conditions. That's where a guy like Dillon should cook.

 

I don't think there is any chance that both Jones and Williams are back next year. Someone will pay Williams starter money, and Jones is going to break the bank. There is probably a good chance that one will be back (my bet is Williams), but there's also the chance that they both are gone next year, and Dillon is the feature back with Ervin (or a FA signing or rookie) is in the change-up role.

 

Gonna enjoy Jones and Williams while they are here, though. That is probably the team's best RB duo since Levens/Bennett.

[PeaveyFury]

Quick thoughts once again:

1)I know it's a fairly bad Texans team with an interim coach, but a win is a win, especially when you're missing half your starting secondary and two of your top players on offense. Considering how they lost last week, it's nice to bounce back so convincingly.

2)Someone questioned earlier why Houston has managed to stay so mediocre despite seemingly having talent on both sides of the ball. I think there's a debate in another thread here about the effectiveness of coaches related to MM/Sherman etc. I think you can make a case that talent makes a coach look better than they may be, but bad coaching can make the results on the field poorer than the talent suggests it should be. See the Jim Schwartz led Lions, etc. among dozens of other examples.

3)Great bounce-back game for the offense, especially considering the lack of Jones/Bakh. I think this may have been a glimpse of next year without Jones due to cap concerns and the organization understanding the bad idea it is to give a RB a huge 2nd contract. Williams seems like a smarter, cheaper re-sign. He performed well yesterday.

4)I said last week that the offense seemed to work better without Adams because they spread the ball out better. Obviously, yesterday shows that Adams is still one of the best receivers in the league for a reason. I don't think a single throw that went to him wasn't either A)completely uncontested, or B)only put in a place where it was either him that came down with the ball, or no one. Good QB play yesterday, obviously.

5)The defense actually played fairly well, I thought. Put in terrible position a couple of times, and they really did well to hold Houston to FG tries.

6)Other than Scott's monster day punting the football, which was great to see considering his bad end to last year, the special teams looked as bad yesterday as they have all year. All you have to do on special teams to be acceptable is not lead to plays that give the other team possession/field position, and they failed at that yesterday. As I mentioned earlier, it shows you the 'crap rolls downhill' aspect of injuries.... a guy activated this week due to Ervin/Jones being out misses a block that leads to a botched punt, etc. Also illustrative of how quickly bad ST play can open a window for a team to get back into a game despite being dominated for 3 quarters.

7)Amos and Preston Smith had nice games after slow starts to the year. Martin looked good in his first action, and I think we all hope he can be alongside Barnes going forward pending injury news on Barnes.

8)All told, back to being considered one of the top teams in the NFC after a clunker. I won't sleep on MN in any game, but it'd be really nice to roll into the 49ers game with one loss.

[LouisEly]

6)Other than Scott's monster day punting the football

 

What research have the networks done that shows that fans are not interested in seeing punting stats during a game? Because I can't remember seeing any punter stats in years, and I would really like to.

[adambr2]

My only disappointment from this game was that I am just not impressed by Dillon at all. I had really hoped that he would have a breakout game of sorts with Jones out but he's obviously miles behind even Williams.

 

I understand he's a rookie but RB has one of the shorter learning curves in the game and you've got plenty of rookie RBs being productive every year -- this year Gibson, Robinson, Swift just to name a few.

 

If they drafted Dillon with the intention of him taking over as lead back in 2021 I would guess they are having second thoughts at this point. If Jones' money scares them away I can easily see us pivoting to a cheaper Williams' contract. One is going to be back.

[HiAndTight]

My only disappointment from this game was that I am just not impressed by Dillon at all. I had really hoped that he would have a breakout game of sorts with Jones out but he's obviously miles behind even Williams.

 

I understand he's a rookie but RB has one of the shorter learning curves in the game and you've got plenty of rookie RBs being productive every year -- this year Gibson, Robinson, Swift just to name a few.

 

If they drafted Dillon with the intention of him taking over as lead back in 2021 I would guess they are having second thoughts at this point. If Jones' money scares them away I can easily see us pivoting to a cheaper Williams' contract. One is going to be back.

 

 

I don't actually think Dillon was ever supposed to take over for Jones. If they were looking for a back to take over Jones role, Gibson would have been a much better option. He's a more versatile back who is a natural receiver out of the backfield.

I do think Dillon needs more than 5 carries to get going. He's a big back...those guys need to get into a rhythm. Sporadic carries isn't going to get him going.

My guess is that they're trying to get rid of the "lead back" idea and hoping to go with multiple backs who can come in and play together. Like Freeman and Coleman in ATL or the stable of backs the 49'ers have had.

 

 

I'd let Jones test the market before even thinking about offering him a deal. He's a great fit in Green Bay, but I don't think he's going to get paid like Cook and Kamara(at least I don't think he should be paid like either).

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

My only disappointment from this game was that I am just not impressed by Dillon at all. I had really hoped that he would have a breakout game of sorts with Jones out but he's obviously miles behind even Williams.

 

I understand he's a rookie but RB has one of the shorter learning curves in the game and you've got plenty of rookie RBs being productive every year -- this year Gibson, Robinson, Swift just to name a few.

 

If they drafted Dillon with the intention of him taking over as lead back in 2021 I would guess they are having second thoughts at this point. If Jones' money scares them away I can easily see us pivoting to a cheaper Williams' contract. One is going to be back.

 

As OldSchoolSnapper alluded to above, Dillon isn't really the type of back that you want to use in spot duty. He's a workhorse bruiser who had the reputation of punishing defenses and getting stronger as the game went along in college. Using him as a spot player is really taking him out of his element. I HIGHLY doubt that the Packers are having second thoughts on a guy who is 7 games into his NFL career. That's a pretty hyperbolic notion.

 

I believe you are correct, though, that it is likely to be the Williams/Dillon show next year, though. That is a tad worrisome, as they are both kind of cut from the same cloth as between-the-tackles bruisers. I'd much rather see a Jones/Dillon combo, but Jones might have priced himself out of the Packers' plans.

[HiAndTight]

Martin made an incredible play early in the game. Might have been the 1st or 2nd series, but he came in, blew up a guard and hit the back about 2-3 yards deep. I had to rewind that a couple of times as it was especially impressive.

 

I didn't see him play until the second half. I'll have to go back and look again. I was trying to keep an eye out for him. One thing I noticed about him (and Jackson too) is that they attack the ball.. even if they aren't the first one there. Love to see the hustle!

 

Seems like Dillon's rushes were pretty vanilla, up the middle rushes. He also seemed to be somewhat tentative - often having both arms wrapped around the ball. Not that I want him to fumble, but you take away a lot of flexibility and mobility that way.

 

 

This wasn't the play I was thinking of, but it's another one where he sheds a guard pretty easily and stuff Johnson inside the 5.

https://youtu.be/7C0xtw4UQCI?t=187

 

It may have been the play where Jackson got the credit on a tackle for a loss of 1 on their first series(Though I thought that was Preston Smith).

 

But these replays don't have each play.

Either way, it was one of the better plays I've seen from a Packers MLB'er in a while in just coming in and filling and making a play in the backfield.

Anyone can make a play after a gain of 4, but he hadn't played in a year and he was playing downhill and attacking.

 

 

As for Dillon, he just needs more carries IMO. He didn't look like he was running with a lot of power. It looked like he wasn't running through tackles like you see in his College highlights. He was getting hit and didn't keep his legs moving. Tentative as you said.

[Jimbo]

6)Other than Scott's monster day punting the football

 

What research have the networks done that shows that fans are not interested in seeing punting stats during a game? Because I can't remember seeing any punter stats in years, and I would really like to.

 

While on that subject, it bugs me they all have gone to the endzone angle. Usually can't see the end rusher until the last moment.

[HiAndTight]

6)Other than Scott's monster day punting the football

 

What research have the networks done that shows that fans are not interested in seeing punting stats during a game? Because I can't remember seeing any punter stats in years, and I would really like to.

 

With everything they've got going on, one of the things I'd like to see again is the hang time. I thought that was a pretty important stat for a punter.