What ails the Packers???

[stomperrob]

Packers' Rodgers: 'Right now I'm not getting it done'
By Bob Wolfley of the Journal Sentinel
Oct. 9, 2012


Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he is making mistakes this season he has not made in the past, which has contributed to his team’s 2-3 start.

On his radio show Tuesday on WAUK-AM (540) with reporter Jason Wilde, Rodgers talked about the inconsistencies of his play, the inability of the offense to convert on third down, the lack of professionalism of rookies in practice and the impact the injury to running back Cedric Benson will have on the team.

"We have been a little inconsistent," Rodgers said when asked about what was wrong with the offense. "We have had real good stretches at times. We went four halves without giving up a sack, and in the other six halves we’ve given up 21. We’ve just been inconsistent on third down. Last year we were up around 50(%). This year we are probably more in the 40(%) range. We have been great in the red zone, cashed in a lot of touchdowns. I think we have to be up near the top of that category. We are not getting down there as much as we should. That’s why we are not averaging the same amount of points as last year."

The Packers have converted 39.7% of the time on third down this season, compared to 48.1% for all of last season.

Rodgers said the offense has not had as many opportunities to score as last season in part because the defense is not getting as many takeaways. But he said the offense is not taking the pressure off the defense in the manner it should.

"We had a little more than 24 minutes of time on offense," Rodgers said, referring to the game against the Colts. "It puts your defense in a bind. They had over 35 minutes of offense, a lot of snaps. . . . We need to do a better job on third down because when you are not converting those, you can’t keep drives going, you can’t keep your defense off the field, and it just puts them (the defense) in a tough position."

con't...

more: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/173353321.html

[Chicago 2]

On offense there are a number of concerns....

1. Our WRs are not beating coverages like they have in the past, a healthy Greg Jennings would help but we have the talent where this should not be an excuse.

2. Drops...

3. The offensive line has been awful but there have been improvements since the Seattle game, once Benson left the game we became too one dimensional and again you saw Rodgers on the ground, not to discredit Freeney and Mathis.

4. The previous point leads into the playcalling, it is predictable and I hope we try to run with Benson out because I would really like to see how Green can perform with a larger role. Ever since last year's Chiefs game teams now have a recipe to stop our big play and we really have not adjusted to this.

5. I'd hate to mention Aaron because the expectations are high but his throws have been off and he is holding onto the ball too long.

Defensively, I have not been overly upset because there has been improvements this season, considering Bishop was lost before the season started I expected just about every RB to shred us. The Colts game proved that Raji was a bigger factor on the line than many Packer fans thought, we couldn't establish any sort of rush after he left the game. What consistently pisses me off week to week is we have a physical corner in Williams and even Woodson when he plays in the nickel and we throw them in zone coverage.


The game vs. Houston should be interesting, a loss would hurt but certainly not end our season.

[moochman]

What is the deal with Mr Rodgers Neighborhood? Has too much time spent doing the discount double check led to a downfield double clutch? Haven't been able to watch a lot of the Pack, but Rodgers is nowhere near as accurate of timely as in the past. Is that the WR not getting open, dropping passes, or his timing being off?
Seems to me like a combination of all of the above. Could be the game plan isn't taking advantage of the skills. Too many deep threats and nobody getting dirty in the middle? Finley in particular seemed to be poorly utilized. Neslon, Cobb, Jennings run great deep routes, so why is Finley not running more short delayed bail out routes in the middle? What is Jones role? Maybe they have too many of the same receivers. Cobb and Jennings deep and crossing routes with Jordy and Finley seem like a nitemare for and D, and a dream for a QB.
I dunno, confusing to me why the Pack is struggling. Do have to worry how a D that couldn't get Lucky is going to handle the Texans.

[Chicago 2]

What is the deal with Mr Rodgers Neighborhood? Has too much time spent doing the discount double check led to a downfield double clutch? Haven't been able to watch a lot of the Pack, but Rodgers is nowhere near as accurate of timely as in the past. Is that the WR not getting open, dropping passes, or his timing being off?

Little bit of everything.

Seems to me like a combination of all of the above. Could be the game plan isn't taking advantage of the skills. Too many deep threats and nobody getting dirty in the middle?

Again you nailed it, we are not adjusting to what the defense is giving us, teams are playing a cover 2 vs. us and we are not taking advantage of it. This has typically been a defense the offense has struggled with but if you can stretch out the safeties the middle of the field should be available.

Finley in particular seemed to be poorly utilized. Neslon, Cobb, Jennings run great deep routes, so why is Finley not running more short delayed bail out routes in the middle?

Finley's athleticism not being used enough, he has the ability to beat almost any player covering him and he doesn't get the targets, maybe he is in the doghouse because of drops idk.

What is Jones role? Maybe they have too many of the same receivers. Cobb and Jennings deep and crossing routes with Jordy and Finley seem like a nitemare for and D, and a dream for a QB.
I dunno, confusing to me why the Pack is struggling. Do have to worry how a D that couldn't get Lucky is going to handle the Texans.

The WRs from what I have watched are not being used too differently, I also wonder if a whole offseason to prepare for these elite passing attacks has helped defenses.