The Packer Pundit

Still Not Ready for Prime Time Packers
Packer Pundit / Patrick Stuckey
Missed tackles, missed passes, missed assignments all led to a missed opportunity as the Packers allowed the Eagles to win a game the Pack could easily have won. Philly seemed disinterested, possibly looking forward to the Cowboys and T.O. coming into town. In any case, Green Bay held their own, and held back a much more talented, experienced team and went into the locker room with a 9-7 half time lead. Unfortunately... they came back out.

Now for the dissection...

* Starting with the first drive, Bubba 'Hands of Stone' Franks did his best David Copperfield imitation, turning a very do'able 3rd and inches into 3rd and 5. Bubba... try going on the snap count. It looks better in the film room and is less of a drive killer. Stupid Factor 7

* Defensive Coach Bob Sanders calling a prevent Defense with 1:46 in the second half. McNabb just sat back in the pocket (three man rush) and waited for someone to get open. Fortunately, Philly pulled a brain fart and tried to pass on a fake field goal with 1 second and 40 some yards to get into the end zone. Also the Pack's inability to get off the field on 3rd and long 3 straight times to start the second half. That was killer and gave the Eagles the big Mo.

* Donald Driver and Ahmad 'Toast' Carroll. You fill in the blanks. Just let me add this. Is there anybody out there in the Free World or even Developing 3rd World Dictatorships that still thinks Ahmad Carroll can play cornerback in the NFL???

* Morency almost single handedly gave this game away. I mean... I liked a lot of what I saw out of him... but that fumble in the first half and that bounce pass off his chest just is not acceptable. His inability to get into the endzone late in the 4th quarter robbed us of a small morale victory. Half the blame to him (you can't score going in 'Back' first) and half the blame goes to the poor blocking on 3 straight plays.

Now for the positive...

* Brett Favre. I'm not the biggest Brett Favre fan and if you're a regular reader of this blog, you certainly couldn't mistake me for a 'kool-aide' drinker. But damn... he's playing great and doesn't deserve the horrible lack of effort he's getting from players like Driver (2 weeks in a row of dropped passes) and Bubba Franks... and Morency.

* Greg Jennings... A. J. Hawk... and the rookie guards. All playing better than a lot of the vets.

Pardon the Interruption... but...

* Somebody please shut Tony Kornheiser up. Pleaaaaase!!!
Tony... it's okay to have a thought and not verbalize it.

* Did ESPN miss any Eagles fan in the stadium??? I swear it was 'Get your drunk ass on cable TV night' in Philly.

Do I sound bitter??? Being 1-3 will do that to ya!






Separate arrival
Fullback William Henderson didn't travel with the team Sunday afternoon. Instead, he took a commercial flight Monday morning, an arrangement that McCarthy said he was aware of in advance. "He was able to stay home for a personal matter," McCarthy said.

Rotating right guards
Tony Moll made his fourth straight start at right guard. However, Jason Spitz played about 25% of the snaps in place of Moll in the first half and then played most of the snaps in the second half. Meanwhile, Daryn Colledge went the distance at left guard. "I think it's very healthy," McCarthy said. "All signs indicated they competed. I think they got better today."

First start
Running back Vernand Morency started for Green. He carried 26 times for 99 yards and caught six passes for 19 yards. "He's a different type back than Ahman," McCarthy said. "That's part of why we traded for him. He's a good change-of-pace back. I thought he competed and battled. We worked on establishing our run. We really didn't have the ones that came out but for the most part we were banging at the door and ran the ball physically. I thought the pass protection was good early. Once you get behind like that you're playing up hill. That's a game you don’t want to play."

General assessment
McCarthy viewed the second-half collapse in much the same way everyone else saw it. "I really think the second-half came down to big plays," he said. "We had the turnovers and they scored off them. We had chances of big plays and did not make them. It was a key factor in the way the game got away from us. "We adhered to our game plan. Our defense was physical. They did a good job swarming to the ball. We made the big plays in the red zone early. That's what we needed to do in the second half."

Mea culpa
Among those taking the blame for the Packers' loss was receiver Donald Driver. "I put this one on myself," said Driver, who caught five passes for just 50 yards despite lining up often against fill-in starter Joselio Hanson. Driver had one critical drop and another that was questionable. The one that was clearly a drop came with the Packers trailing, 10-9, and facing first and 10 at the Eagles' 41. Driver ran a slant in front of cornerback Sheldon Brown and was wide open, but Favre's pass bounced off him onto the ground. The Packers never recovered and wound up attempting a 54-yard field goal that Dave Rayner pushed to the left. "I'm the type that never catches it with my body," Driver said. "I don't know why I tried to do that. When you catch with your body you make mistakes and you have to live with them." Driver had an opportunity to score on another quick slant and appeared to gather in the ball as he crossed the goal line. But he was hit by safety Michael Lewis and wasn't able to hang on to the ball. "The ball got up on me quick," Driver said. "But I say I dropped that. I felt like I had two drops."

WHAT IF
Receiver Donald Driver's third-quarter drop cost the Packers dearly. With the Packers at the Eagles' 41 after Greg Jennings' 30-yard reception down the left sideline, Driver beat Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown on a hard slant and had no one covering him when Favre hit him with a strike about 7 yards downfield. Driver would have had some room to run and possibly could have gotten the ball to the 25 or beyond. Instead, they faced second and 10 and were ultimately forced to kick a 54-yard field goal, which Dave Rayner missed wide left. The Eagles scored on the next possession to take a 17-9 lead.

MISSING IN ACTION
The absence of running backs Westbrook and Ahman Green was probably felt more by the Eagles than the Packers. Westbrook is the Eagles' leading yard gainer and can lift both the running game and the passing game. Without him, the Eagles had no running game to speak of. The Packers, on the other hand, got some decent yardage out of replacement Morency, although his first-half fumble set up a Philadelphia touchdown. Still, Morency made the Eagles honor the run with a couple of short bursts. The Eagles were greatly affected in the passing game without Westbrook because they couldn't get the matchups they wanted.

PLAY OF THE GAME
The Packers were still in arm's reach of the Eagles with 5 minutes to go in the third quarter when they faced second and 7 at their 30. With his team trailing, 17-9, quarterback Brett Favre did what he's supposed to do when he doesn't have any receivers open downfield, dumping the ball off to a running back. Only he had a little bit of heat on him and was rolling to the right and his throw was too hot for Vernand Morency. The ball could have been caught but as hard as it was thrown, it's understandable why it skipped off his raised hands. The ball popped in the air and defensive lineman LaJuan Ramsey picked it off. One play later, receiver Greg Lewis caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and the game was all but over.

Rayner ties team record
Green Bay left Lincoln Financial Field with a 31-9 loss to host Philadelphia Monday night, but Packers kicker Dave Rayner could leave feeling like he proved himself during a nationally televised appearance. Rayner made three of four field goals, including a 54-yarder that tied the team record for longest field goal. He accounted for all the Packers' scoring, converting three field goals in the first half when Green Bay took a 9-7 lead. "Obviously, I have a long way to go," said Rayner, who'd heard comments that he hadn't shown he could make a long field goal. "(But) I think Monday Night Football, it was a pretty good game and I hit a pretty long field goal. So, I hope it quiets some people down for a while."

Roster moves
With Brandon Miree starting at fullback for William Henderson and Vernand Morency starting for the inactive Ahman Green, the Packers' backfield had a completely different look from past years. Miree, a second-year player from Pittsburgh, caught a pass from Brett Favre in the right flat and the 7-yard reception moved Green Bay to the Eagles' 18-yard line on Green Bay's second possession. The drive ended with Rayner's 23-yard field goal, putting Green Bay ahead 3-0. "You've got to judge it by getting the 'W,' first and foremost," Miree said. "Other than that, I thought I played decent. I'll have to look at the film." Henderson didn't fly into Philadelphia until Monday. "He flew in today due to a personal matter," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "He was with his newborn baby." Henderson played on special teams, including kick coverage and kick returns. "I do as my father taught me and my mother taught me - keep persevering," Henderson said about being replaced by Miree in the starting lineup.

Injury update
Packers tight end Donald Lee suffered a knee injury in the first half. McCarthy had no more information on the extent of the injury. With 1:52 left in the second quarter, Packers receiver Donald Driver had the wind knocked out of him when he collided with safety Sean Considine on an incompletion. But Driver returned in the third quarter. The Packers' Robert Ferguson injured his ribs making a tackle on a kick return by the Eagles' Dexter Wynn with 1:41 left in the first half. Ferguson was back on the kick return team with 8:21 left in the third quarter. Ferguson later injured his foot and didn't return in the fourth quarter. He was on crutches in the locker room with his right foot wrapped. McCarthy didn't have further information on Ferguson's injury. Green Bay left offensive tackle Chad Clifton limped off with an apparent left leg injury with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter, but he returned on the next series. Aaron Rodgers replaced Favre with 4:23 left in the game and Philadelphia leading 31-9. It was a coach's decision to take out Favre, who suffered a slight head injury on the previous series. McCarthy said: "He was just shook up. He got hit in the head and he had a stinger. I don't think it's serious. There was no reason for Brett to get hurt in a game that was out of hand," said Rodgers, who completed 2 of 3 passes for 14 yards as he drove the Packers to the Eagles' 1-yard line in the closing seconds of garbage time. "After he took that last shot, I figured I was going in."

Extra points
Tony Moll started at right guard for the Packers, but Jason Spitz played significant time. ... The Eagles challenged Jennings' 30-yard, third-quarter reception, but the ruling on the field was upheld that it was a catch. ... The interception by the Eagles' LaJuan Ramsey, which he returned for minus 12 yards, was the first by a Philadelphia defensive tackle since 1999. ... Packers coach Mike McCarthy's parents made the trip from Pittsburgh to the game. ... Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard attended.