Game 1: Packers @ Saints (in Jacksonville) - Sunday, September 12th, 3:25pm

[homer]

Some of these takes are most likely going to age very poorly. I can't stand Rodgers, and I think there's a good chance the Packers regress from last season, but there's no chance in hell they're as bad as they looked today. I missed the game, but yikes.

 

For my money, they thought they could sleepwalk through the Saints "backup QB" playing a misplaced home game because they are the mighty Packers with the MVP and lots of shiny offensive weapons. Meanwhile Winston was on a mission to prove he belongs in the league. Atrocious game but probably a badly needed wake-up call to put all this Last Dance nonsense to the side and remember that they're not just handed a seat in the NFCCG.

I think you nailed it. If anything probably one of the biggest failures was the offensive line w/o Bakhtiari. Couldn't get the run game going, didn't really pass protect all that great either.

 

Yeah starting two rookies at center and guard is a risky proposition. They'll get better but getting Bakhtiari back will be an exponential improvement.

 

Defense is more of a concern to me but it's one game. Who knows? Maybe if Rodgers doesn't throw that INT in the red zone it's a different ball game.

[PeaveyFury]

Maybe if Rodgers doesn't throw that INT in the red zone it's a different ball game.

 

Probably worth emphasizing this point. It really felt like they were going to make it 10-17 and very much a ballgame again. The swing of going from that to 3-24 was absolutely massive.

[homer]

Maybe if Rodgers doesn't throw that INT in the red zone it's a different ball game.

 

Probably worth emphasizing this point. It really felt like they were going to make it 10-17 and very much a ballgame again. The swing of going from that to 3-24 was absolutely massive.

 

The other INT would have been just a like a punt but the dude returned it like 40 yards. Then you go for it on 4th inside your own 30 (because you have to) and the wheels fall off.

[PeaveyFury]

Yeah, I understood at the time that it was probably his thought process regarding 'as good as a punt'. As you noted, he 'outkicked his coverage' and the return negated the low-risk thought process there.

[MrTPlush]

That safety made an incredible play to run the field and come up with that ball. Rodgers probably doesn't throw it at all if you told him it was going to be 2v1...because that is where an INT can quickly turn into a lengthy return.

[adambr2]

Some of these takes are most likely going to age very poorly. I can't stand Rodgers, and I think there's a good chance the Packers regress from last season, but there's no chance in hell they're as bad as they looked today. I missed the game, but yikes.

 

For my money, they thought they could sleepwalk through the Saints "backup QB" playing a misplaced home game because they are the mighty Packers with the MVP and lots of shiny offensive weapons. Meanwhile Winston was on a mission to prove he belongs in the league. Atrocious game but probably a badly needed wake-up call to put all this Last Dance nonsense to the side and remember that they're not just handed a seat in the NFCCG.

 

And that is absurd if the Packers thought that. The Saints have a professional football team, and it is opening day in your "last ride" season. This is not the first time the last few years that the team admitted to not being prepared or amped up for a big game. Why is it so difficult for these guys to self-motivate?

[sveumrules]

They've been prepared or amped up or self-motivated or whatever enough to go 26-6 the last two seasons, starting 3-0 in 2019 & 4-0 in 2020.

 

The biggest difference I can think of between those two years & this year is that in neither of the previous two did AR12 publicly state his desire not to be here.

 

Correlation doesn't automatically equal causation (it doesn't automatically not equal it either), so it could just be coincidence...or not.

 

I honestly don't know, but I know what I believe.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

LOL Rashan Gary was the LEAST of the team's problems today. This just seems like a sour grapes excuse to rip on a move you didn't like because you are unhappy with the result.

You’re right. It probably is. Perhaps I’ve held him to a higher standard the past 2.5 years because I didn’t like the pick. It’s beyond me why you’d hand out a pair of massive FA contracts to edge rushers and then use the #12 pick to draft another edge rusher. Even if he breaks out later this year, they’ll only get him cheap for 1.5 years.

 

Zach Kruse

@zachkruse2

·

8m

Rashan Gary led the Packers with 4 pressures, including 2 QB hits. Only rushed 16 times.

[adambr2]

I honestly wish they had just traded him in the spring when he first wanted out.

 

His value will never be again what it was then. Teams are going to sniff around on Rodgers after this season, but if he plays like '18 and '19 again, he's just not going to be worth that much in a deal.

 

If this is a sample of what we'll get this year, I would have rather just moved on from Rodgers and spent the next year or two seeing what we can build around Love and give him the whole season as starter. It's possible that yesterday ends up being no more more a blip on the radar ...or it's possible that it foreshadows a season of internal strife, distraction and losing.

 

It can't be easy for the team to rally behind a leader that they know doesn't want to be here with them.

[PeaveyFury]

The biggest difference I can think of between those two years & this year is that in neither of the previous two did AR12 publicly state his desire not to be here.

 

I think it's also fair to take it a step further and note that in addition to stating his desire, he also clearly indicated at numerous points that he wasn't/didn't devote any of the offseason to football activities to 'clear his mind', etc.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what his typical/previous offseasons have looked like from a 'football activities' standpoint, but yesterday it certainly looked like he hadn't devoted much time to football vs. other things this offseason....

[homer]

The biggest difference I can think of between those two years & this year is that in neither of the previous two did AR12 publicly state his desire not to be here.

 

I think it's also fair to take it a step further and note that in addition to stating his desire, he also clearly indicated at numerous points that he wasn't/didn't devote any of the offseason to football activities to 'clear his mind', etc.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what his typical/previous offseasons have looked like from a 'football activities' standpoint, but yesterday it certainly looked like he hadn't devoted much time to football vs. other things this offseason....

 

From all the beat writers accounts Rodgers was locked in and throwing the ball incredibly well all pre-season.

[nodakfan17]

LOL Rashan Gary was the LEAST of the team's problems today. This just seems like a sour grapes excuse to rip on a move you didn't like because you are unhappy with the result.

You’re right. It probably is. Perhaps I’ve held him to a higher standard the past 2.5 years because I didn’t like the pick. It’s beyond me why you’d hand out a pair of massive FA contracts to edge rushers and then use the #12 pick to draft another edge rusher. Even if he breaks out later this year, they’ll only get him cheap for 1.5 years.

 

Zach Kruse

@zachkruse2

·

8m

Rashan Gary led the Packers with 4 pressures, including 2 QB hits. Only rushed 16 times.

[sarcasm]Enough with your facts.[/sarcasm]

[PeaveyFury]

Gary has been quite good since about week 5 of last season. I know a lot of people struggle with taking a bit of a project at 12th overall, but he's certainly ramping up his production as they intended.

[SomewhereInTime]

LOL Rashan Gary was the LEAST of the team's problems today. This just seems like a sour grapes excuse to rip on a move you didn't like because you are unhappy with the result.

You’re right. It probably is. Perhaps I’ve held him to a higher standard the past 2.5 years because I didn’t like the pick. It’s beyond me why you’d hand out a pair of massive FA contracts to edge rushers and then use the #12 pick to draft another edge rusher. Even if he breaks out later this year, they’ll only get him cheap for 1.5 years.

 

Zach Kruse

@zachkruse2

·

8m

Rashan Gary led the Packers with 4 pressures, including 2 QB hits. Only rushed 16 times.

 

0 sacks, 0 tackles, no other statistics recorded. And actually one of his pressures was him working an inside move allowing QB to break containment and run for first down on a 3rd and long.

 

All that said, yes I would agree he was one of the bright spots defensively.

[yourout]

The biggest difference I can think of between those two years & this year is that in neither of the previous two did AR12 publicly state his desire not to be here.

 

I think it's also fair to take it a step further and note that in addition to stating his desire, he also clearly indicated at numerous points that he wasn't/didn't devote any of the offseason to football activities to 'clear his mind', etc.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what his typical/previous offseasons have looked like from a 'football activities' standpoint, but yesterday it certainly looked like he hadn't devoted much time to football vs. other things this offseason....

 

From all the beat writers accounts Rodgers was locked in and throwing the ball incredibly well all pre-season.

 

Practice speed against the Packer defense is quite a bit different from game speed against a legit one.

[Dean Machine]

The biggest difference I can think of between those two years & this year is that in neither of the previous two did AR12 publicly state his desire not to be here.

 

I think it's also fair to take it a step further and note that in addition to stating his desire, he also clearly indicated at numerous points that he wasn't/didn't devote any of the offseason to football activities to 'clear his mind', etc.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what his typical/previous offseasons have looked like from a 'football activities' standpoint, but yesterday it certainly looked like he hadn't devoted much time to football vs. other things this offseason....

 

I can't help but think of last year when Brady kept getting in trouble breaking lockdown to throw to his receivers in a park. I think Brady lives only for winning championships and Rodgers not so much.

[homer]

 

Practice speed against the Packer defense is quite a bit different from game speed against a legit one.

 

Of course but that has nothing to do with Rodgers' off-season training regimen.

[MrTPlush]

I can't help but think of last year when Brady kept getting in trouble breaking lockdown to throw to his receivers in a park. I think Brady lives only for winning championships and Rodgers not so much.

 

Correct, Aaron Rodgers....along with every other human, is not Tom Brady.

[CheezWizHed]

MLF isn't without his gaffs here too. Biggest one I remember was NO had it 4th and goal with 1:55 left in the first half. He chose not to use his last timeout and they burnt over 30 seconds off the clock.

 

That 30s would've been nice when we were driving and had to settle for the FG...

[MrTPlush]

MLF isn't without his gaffs here too. Biggest one I remember was NO had it 4th and goal with 1:55 left in the first half. He chose not to use his last timeout and they burnt over 30 seconds off the clock.

 

That 30s would've been nice when we were driving and had to settle for the FG...

 

MLF screwing something up on a 4th down? I have heard this story before.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm not saying this is THE reason Rodgers played poorly yesterday, but it was essentially the first game he's had to play in any sort of crowd noise that could be considered a typical NFL football game since the 2019 season. The entire 2020 regular season was played with basically nobody in the stands, and even the 2021 playoff games were limited in capacity to 5K or 10K people from what I can remember. I long thought last year's COVID season gave a huge advantage to Rodgers and the Packers because of how great he is at the line of scrimmage and with presnap cadences keeping defenders from getting off well on the snap.

 

I recall last season how much more quickly the Packers seemed to get a playcall in, get out of the huddle, and have a rhythm on offense. Also, the game mics actually had to be muted during televised broadcasts because you could hear everything being said on the field - audibling at the line of scrimmage was easy, reading defensive adjustments was easy, and line/blocking calls were easy to get everyone in sync before the snap.

 

None of that happened at all yesterday - in fact their offense looked a ton like it did during long stretches of the 2019 season when many people were pining for all new receivers and looking at the 2021 season as the best option to move on from Rodgers based on what his contract looked like at the time. Rodgers made some very bad decisions with the football yesterday, and I wonder if the rust we saw isn't necessarily just with skipping minicamps and preseason games, but moreso with playing in noise and being able to communicate as easily as an offense in it - something that appeared to be a problem all season long during the 1st year in MLF's offense back in 2019. Particularly with a rookie center and guard playing their first NFL game, Jenkins out of position at LT, etc.

[SomewhereInTime]

The Saints ran about 40 running plays to only 20 passes (Depends on how technical you want to be regarding jet sweep forward passes). The Packers defensive front consistently could not stop the run as they were manhandled by New Orleans offensive line. The Saints scored on all but one possession until late in garbage time. That's the game. It's not Rodgers playing poorly, not Winston playing well, not crowd noise, or any other nonsense. When an offensive line wins the battle this decisively vs a defensive front, that team will win.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Sometimes those stats come about because of a few key plays in the game. Once it's 24-3 there is much less incentive to throw. Packers looks like crap. But watching it back it seems like at 17-10 it probably could have been a different game.

 

I won't defend the Packers defense though. It's almost always bad and is probably average at best, again.

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Saints ran about 40 running plays to only 20 passes (Depends on how technical you want to be regarding jet sweep forward passes). The Packers defensive front consistently could not stop the run as they were manhandled by New Orleans offensive line. The Saints scored on all but one possession until late in garbage time. That's the game. It's not Rodgers playing poorly, not Winston playing well, not crowd noise, or any other nonsense. When an offensive line wins the battle this decisively vs a defensive front, that team will win.

 

Agreed on the defense getting manhandled in the trenches being a key to them getting trounced yesterday....but that has nothing to do with Rodgers basically having his worst game as a pro statistically that he didn't leave early due to injury. His and the offense's terrible day also contributed to the defense living on the field, too, and turned a loss into a curb-stomping.

[SomewhereInTime]

The Saints ran about 40 running plays to only 20 passes (Depends on how technical you want to be regarding jet sweep forward passes). The Packers defensive front consistently could not stop the run as they were manhandled by New Orleans offensive line. The Saints scored on all but one possession until late in garbage time. That's the game. It's not Rodgers playing poorly, not Winston playing well, not crowd noise, or any other nonsense. When an offensive line wins the battle this decisively vs a defensive front, that team will win.

 

Agreed on the defense getting manhandled in the trenches being a key to them getting trounced yesterday....but that has nothing to do with Rodgers basically having his worst game as a pro statistically that he didn't leave early due to injury. His and the offense's terrible day also contributed to the defense living on the field, too, and turned a loss into a curb-stomping.

 

The offense certainly performed poorly as well for many reasons including the QB and that's definitely bad. I just don't care because I don't think it matters much if the defensive front is this bad.