It didn’t seem like hyperbole a week ago.
Mike McCarthy had called a better game. The defense did look more aggressive. The Green Bay Packers were nothing like they were in 2008.
As it turns out, though, hyperbole is the only way to describe my, well, descriptions of Green Bay after last week’s win over Chicago.
Sunday’s utterly embarassing 31-24 loss to the lowly Cincinnati Bengals showed that the Packers are still a long ways off from putting last season behind them.
It was all there….again.
An offensive line that couldn’t give quarterback Aaron Rodgers time? Check.
Rodgers was sacked six times, five coming from one player (Antwan Odom), in what was perhaps the worst o-line showing of McCarthy’s tenure as head coach. The group was consistently beaten off the ball by the Bengals from the opening snap on Sunday, showing very little punch or determination. It’s more than enough to seriously make me re-think my theory that McCarthy should stick with his five linemen, no matter what.
Oh, wait – he’ll have to move some pieces around now as left tackle Chad Clifton was carted off with an ankle injury, an injury that could keep him out for some time. Doesn’t really matter who is in there at this point; they have to play better or Rodgers, already sacked 10 times in two games, won’t make it through the season alive.
Rodgers holding on to the ball way too long? Check.
For as bad as his o-line was, Rodgers didn’t do himself any favors by hanging on to the ball for well beyond an acceptable amount of time. That led to a couple of sacks. It was a big problem last season, too, and, from what I can tell, it’s about the only thing that can hold him back from becoming an elite quarterback. But it’s a fairly big thing if it doesn’t get corrected.
A tentative defense that couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t tackle and spent way too much time on its heels? Check, check and check.
The defense was gashed by Cedric Benson – yes, that Cedric Benson – to the tune of 141 yards on 29 carries. The front seven failed to control the gaps and played with little enthusiasm. Hell, even when they got there, they either flailed about weakly or, worse, were just flat out knocked over by Benson. Most worrisome is that several times, the defense had chances to stop Benson when the group knew he was coming – and, yet, they couldn’t.
That’s not even to mention Green Bay’s numerous failures in coverage (not you, Charles Woodson. We still love you). Playing out of a lot of nickel and dime sets, the Packers sat back and let Carson Palmer – a thoroughly mediocre quarterback, as it turns out – find receivers 10-20 yards downfield. Where was the aggressive defense that pressured the hell out of Jay Cutler a week ago? Did Dom Capers forget about blitzing? What happened? I’m not even going to discuss the fact that the defense gave up a third-and-34 because, well, I feel like I’m going to puke whenever I think of it.
Of course, picking apart a secondary easy to do when cornerback/safety/bain of my existence Jarrett Bush is manning one of the safety spots. Bush replaced injured Nick Collins (chest) and once again showed that he must have incriminating pictures of Ted Thompson, as that can be the only reason he has stuck around this long. You could have thrown Anthony Smith out there and maybe gotten more favorable results – wait, no you couldn’t because they cut him in favor of some guy (Derrick Martin) who hasn’t done a thing yet.
(And, on the topic of Collins, why is he always getting hurt and having to leave the game? How many times is this going to happen with him? Yes, he’s a very good player, but he’ll never be great – and he’ll never be worth a big-time contract extension – unless he can start finishing games. And fast.)
A special teams unit that can’t cover punts and consistently loses the field position game? You better believe that’s a check.
The Packers almost surrendered two punt returns for touchdowns, one saved by A.J. Hawk (who, after a good game last week, reverted back to his bust-like form. Glad to see you again, A.J.) and another by punter Jeremy Kapinos. The second was particularly inexcusable as it came late in the game with Green Bay trailing. All day, though, the special teams units failed to do their jobs and, as a result, the Packers lost the field position battle most of the afternoon.
Penalties? Oh yeah – big-time check there. The Packers were once again totally undisciplined with 11 penalties for 76 yards. This has become a major trademark of the McCarthy teams and, unless they clean it up, it will be his undoing as a coach. Good teams don’t do this. Period. Penalties equal sloppy play and if a team is sloppy, that means its head coach didn’t get them ready to play.
McCarthy becoming one-dimensional with his playcalling? Yep, that’s the last check – and it’s a big one. With the game tied coming out of halftime, McCarthy – as he’s done countless times as coach of this team – abandoned the run. The run game was struggling, to be sure, but you have to go to it every now and then, at least. Otherwise, the defense pins its ears back and attacks. That’s exactly what the Bengals did and, against this offensive line, we all saw the results.
For all his bluster about being a tough, Pittsburgh guy, McCarthy too often turns his offense into a group that’s about as tough as a bowl of ice cream. You can’t win in the NFL that way – or, at least, you can’t win anything meaningful.
After reading the past 880 words or so, you might think I’m pulling off a case of reverse hyperbole, that I’m being too harsh (oh, the receivers dropped a bunch of passes by the way, which was lovely).
Well, no I’m not, actually.
When you’re playing a team like the Bengals, a team every bit as bad as we thought they were, at home and you’re supposed to be as good as the Packers clearly thought they were, you don’t do the things they did today. You just don’t.
But the Packers did and the result was a defeat as pathetic and embarassing as any I can remember in my lifetime as a fan of this team.
-Chris Lempesis
Packers were awful. Reffing was pretty poor as well. This isn’t a “it cost us the game rant” the Pack was pitiful and lost the game all by itself. But 24 penalties, c’mon Ed. The last several games I have seen this group ref have been poorly officiated, going back to them screwing up that huge call last year for San Diego.