10/16/2007
Defense will be barometer for Packers' fortunes
GREEN BAY -- He was the feel-good story for the first four weeks of the season, but you knew Brett Favre couldn't keep playing near-flawless football forever. Soon enough, there would be a game where he would make a few horrible throws and the Green Bay Packers' defense would have to bail out its quarterback to win. That day arrived Sunday in Green Bay's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field. It was chilly, it was rainy, it was miserable for the 70,761 fans in the stands and the Packers were playing -- sorry Chicago or San Diego -- their most talented opponent to date. And Favre, the NFL's all-time touchdown passing king, didn't help matters with only 188 passing yards and two interceptions to overtake George Blanda as the league's career leader with 279 in that category as well. Of course, the fact that the Packers' running game was nonexistent again, with only 56 total yards, wasn't Favre's fault. And rookie Mason Crosby missing two field goals didn't help, either. [More]
Packers enter bye with high hopes
Young team finds ways to win
while leaving room to improve
The Green Bay Packers haven't played anything close to dominating football one-third of the way through the 2007 season, yet heading into their bye week, they have to be ranked among the top five or six teams in the NFL. The Packers took on the other surprise team of the season, the stubborn and physical Washington Redskins, and didn't give in Sunday. After their 17-14 win at Lambeau Field, the Packers head into their week off with a 5-1 record and the high hopes of a young team that should get better barring catastrophic injury. "We feel good about being 5-1," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, "but we're a team that needs to clean our house. I stood here last week (after losing to Chicago) and said the same things, and I still feel that. Clearly, I feel we're a football team that's just getting started." [More]
No false start
Coach says Packers good,
but need work on basics
Green Bay - There are two ways Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy can look at his team's 5-1 start. He can fret over the fact that despite being tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the National Football Conference, his team ranks last in the NFL in rushing, has trouble covering tight ends and faces a pretty challenging schedule coming out of the bye week. Or he can celebrate the fact that the Packers are in first place in the NFC North despite not having played all that well and have a chance to be one of the conference's main contenders down the stretch if they can clean up a few things. He not surprisingly favors the latter. [More]
Work from the ground up
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers enter their bye week with one goal above all others: Fix what ails the run game. While their surprising and impressive 5-1 record has them tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the NFC, the fact that the Packers' ground game has gone next to nowhere is a source of major consternation for coach Mike McCarthy. So while McCarthy and his staff will spend today and Wednesday self-scouting — "We'll look at every part of our offense, defense and special teams over this period," McCarthy said Monday — improving a rushing offense that ranks dead last in the 32-team league in yards per game (65.7), 29th in yards per attempt (3.3) and 31st in attempts per game (20.2) has to be Job No. 1. [More]
Run Game Under Microscope
It's becoming a familiar refrain, but Head Coach Mike McCarthy once again reiterated what the Packers' stagnant running game needs to get going, and it's not just one thing. It's better fundamentals by the blockers, consistency in who the feature back is, and a commitment to the run game by the play-caller himself, McCarthy. "When you don't run the football, it compounds itself and your problems are ahead," McCarthy said on Monday. "That's what we're focused on, because you want to have all your horses." The ground game produced just 56 yards on 20 carries in Sunday's win over the Redskins. That marked the fourth time in six games the Packers rushed for fewer than 60 yards. [More]
Favre: 'I thought I could have played better'
It started with someone rolling into his bad ankle, included two interceptions and ended with a season-worst 43.5 passer rating. Yet, quarterback Brett Favre's day was a winning one, in spite of his worst all-around performance during the Green Bay Packers' 5-1 start. "I thought I could have played better," said Favre, who finished 19-of-37 passing in Sunday's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. "I thought we could have ran the ball better once again. I thought we could have passed the ball a little better. But I think every one of us on offense are equally to blame, and the bottom line is we won the ballgame and we did enough to win." [More]
Crosby's accuracy goes slip-sliding away
Rookie kicker Mason Crosby changed shoes twice before finding the right ones to combat the slippery turf at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon, but by that time, it was too late. He already had missed two field goals and badly mis-hit one kickoff. Crosby had problems with his footing during the Green Bay Packers' 17-14 win over the Washington Redskins. He changed to longer spikes early in the second half and did so again later in the half before getting comfortable. The poor footing was at least partially to blame for Crosby's missed field goals from 46 yards (wide left) and 38 yards (off the left upright). "The surface started getting slick, and you have to try and keep your footing," Crosby said. "I thought I hit those balls well, but they just kind of drifted on me." [More]
Knee injury will sideline Franks
GREEN BAY — Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks could miss "a couple weeks" with a sprained knee suffered in Sunday's victory over the Washington Redskins, coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. The Packers are off for their bye this week, but McCarthy implied that team physician Pat McKenzie's preliminary diagnosis is that Franks will miss the team's next game, Oct. 29 at Denver, and possibly the Nov. 3 game at Kansas City as well. McCarthy said McKenzie still "wants to do more tests" on Franks' knee, which he injured while catching a pass in the end zone in the third quarter. Franks was ruled out of bounds on the play, nullifying the touchdown. He stayed in the game for the next play but then did not return. [More]
GREEN BAY -- He was the feel-good story for the first four weeks of the season, but you knew Brett Favre couldn't keep playing near-flawless football forever. Soon enough, there would be a game where he would make a few horrible throws and the Green Bay Packers' defense would have to bail out its quarterback to win. That day arrived Sunday in Green Bay's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field. It was chilly, it was rainy, it was miserable for the 70,761 fans in the stands and the Packers were playing -- sorry Chicago or San Diego -- their most talented opponent to date. And Favre, the NFL's all-time touchdown passing king, didn't help matters with only 188 passing yards and two interceptions to overtake George Blanda as the league's career leader with 279 in that category as well. Of course, the fact that the Packers' running game was nonexistent again, with only 56 total yards, wasn't Favre's fault. And rookie Mason Crosby missing two field goals didn't help, either. [More]
Packers enter bye with high hopes
Young team finds ways to win
while leaving room to improve
The Green Bay Packers haven't played anything close to dominating football one-third of the way through the 2007 season, yet heading into their bye week, they have to be ranked among the top five or six teams in the NFL. The Packers took on the other surprise team of the season, the stubborn and physical Washington Redskins, and didn't give in Sunday. After their 17-14 win at Lambeau Field, the Packers head into their week off with a 5-1 record and the high hopes of a young team that should get better barring catastrophic injury. "We feel good about being 5-1," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, "but we're a team that needs to clean our house. I stood here last week (after losing to Chicago) and said the same things, and I still feel that. Clearly, I feel we're a football team that's just getting started." [More]No false start
Coach says Packers good,
but need work on basics
Green Bay - There are two ways Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy can look at his team's 5-1 start. He can fret over the fact that despite being tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the National Football Conference, his team ranks last in the NFL in rushing, has trouble covering tight ends and faces a pretty challenging schedule coming out of the bye week. Or he can celebrate the fact that the Packers are in first place in the NFC North despite not having played all that well and have a chance to be one of the conference's main contenders down the stretch if they can clean up a few things. He not surprisingly favors the latter. [More]Work from the ground up
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers enter their bye week with one goal above all others: Fix what ails the run game. While their surprising and impressive 5-1 record has them tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the NFC, the fact that the Packers' ground game has gone next to nowhere is a source of major consternation for coach Mike McCarthy. So while McCarthy and his staff will spend today and Wednesday self-scouting — "We'll look at every part of our offense, defense and special teams over this period," McCarthy said Monday — improving a rushing offense that ranks dead last in the 32-team league in yards per game (65.7), 29th in yards per attempt (3.3) and 31st in attempts per game (20.2) has to be Job No. 1. [More]Run Game Under Microscope
It's becoming a familiar refrain, but Head Coach Mike McCarthy once again reiterated what the Packers' stagnant running game needs to get going, and it's not just one thing. It's better fundamentals by the blockers, consistency in who the feature back is, and a commitment to the run game by the play-caller himself, McCarthy. "When you don't run the football, it compounds itself and your problems are ahead," McCarthy said on Monday. "That's what we're focused on, because you want to have all your horses." The ground game produced just 56 yards on 20 carries in Sunday's win over the Redskins. That marked the fourth time in six games the Packers rushed for fewer than 60 yards. [More]Favre: 'I thought I could have played better'
It started with someone rolling into his bad ankle, included two interceptions and ended with a season-worst 43.5 passer rating. Yet, quarterback Brett Favre's day was a winning one, in spite of his worst all-around performance during the Green Bay Packers' 5-1 start. "I thought I could have played better," said Favre, who finished 19-of-37 passing in Sunday's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. "I thought we could have ran the ball better once again. I thought we could have passed the ball a little better. But I think every one of us on offense are equally to blame, and the bottom line is we won the ballgame and we did enough to win." [More]Crosby's accuracy goes slip-sliding away
Rookie kicker Mason Crosby changed shoes twice before finding the right ones to combat the slippery turf at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon, but by that time, it was too late. He already had missed two field goals and badly mis-hit one kickoff. Crosby had problems with his footing during the Green Bay Packers' 17-14 win over the Washington Redskins. He changed to longer spikes early in the second half and did so again later in the half before getting comfortable. The poor footing was at least partially to blame for Crosby's missed field goals from 46 yards (wide left) and 38 yards (off the left upright). "The surface started getting slick, and you have to try and keep your footing," Crosby said. "I thought I hit those balls well, but they just kind of drifted on me." [More]Knee injury will sideline Franks
GREEN BAY — Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks could miss "a couple weeks" with a sprained knee suffered in Sunday's victory over the Washington Redskins, coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. The Packers are off for their bye this week, but McCarthy implied that team physician Pat McKenzie's preliminary diagnosis is that Franks will miss the team's next game, Oct. 29 at Denver, and possibly the Nov. 3 game at Kansas City as well. McCarthy said McKenzie still "wants to do more tests" on Franks' knee, which he injured while catching a pass in the end zone in the third quarter. Franks was ruled out of bounds on the play, nullifying the touchdown. He stayed in the game for the next play but then did not return. [More]Published by PackerPundit On Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 5:34 AM.
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