Stoney's He-Man Steeler Haters NFL Playoff Thread ... No Yinzers allowed

It's like playing blackjack: You win some you're supposed to lose and you lose some you're supposed to win.

 

Assuming it's a 50-50 proposition to get that last yard on fourth down, if the Packers get one of the two, they end up with seven points instead of the six they settled for. And if they get them both ...

Now if they don't get either, they still have a Seahawks offense that was brutally bad starting at the 1 twice.

 

I was about to say that was no-way a roughing-the-quarterback penalty. Then Mike Carey said it was, basically telling America that it really wasn't.

 

Was today's Packers loss worse than the choke at home after a 15-1 season? Didn't Rodgers win the MVP that season, too?

 

McCarthy still coaches like the coordinator who isn't quite sure he belongs in the league as a head coach. Usually superb on the prep work from Monday to Saturday.

Yet, during the game, it gets sideways once the jet goes a little of course.

McCarthy is the guy out mowing his lawn on a summer day and he sees a patch of Japanese Beetles on a tree, about 20 feet from the back of the house. Instead of adjusting, he will stop the Toro and walk to the garage for an ax. He starts chopping, grinding as hard as he can, but doesn't take into account that the tree... is about to fall towards the house, destroying the roof.

His plan to mow the grass was immaculate but the sight of the Japanese beetles turned the day into a dumpster fire.

I've never had a sense of confidence and calm on the sidelines with him. Remember when Shaq called Stan Van Gundy the "master of panic"? There's some elements of this on McCarthy when it gets to the end of close games.

Even more than the defeat, I'm more upset that Rodgers is stuck in the prime of his career with a coach I don't think is great in close games. When people say that Rodgers has a poor W-L record in close games or doesn't have this many comeback wins, that doesn't take into account all of the Green Bay losses where they had a 7-to-14 point lead in the second half, went into an offensive shell mixed with a prevent defense and Rodgers couldn't pull them back to a TD in the last 1:22 of a game down 31-27.

 

So Rodgers is off the hook completely for today's game?

 

I'd say no. Green Bay trailed that whole game and it was clear, by the 2nd quarter, that they were having trouble stopping the Giants ground game.

This loss is one that will haunt McCarthy forever in Green Bay. 2012, they couldn't stop Kaepernick. 2013, they...couldn't stop Kaepernick.

Yet the last season-and-a-half have also revealed a problem against good defenses. Red zone offense. Remember seven or eight weeks ago? New England lost at Green Bay 26-21. The Packers had two touchdowns and five FG attempts (making four). Even though Green Bay won, Belichick had found a way to limit the Packers to field goals. They moved the ball flawlessly between the 20s but, like today, and like the playoff loss to the 49ers last year at Green Bay, the Packers settled for field goals.

As I write this, I expect a chorus of "they should have gone for it on 4th down!" from the two early field goals. I still think THAT was the right call as I believe McCarthy was trying to "shrink the game", protect Rodgers but also protect his defense at the same time. For 55 minutes, for the most part, it worked.

(One that I did disagree with was kicking the field goal to make it 16-0. At 13-0 Green Bay, I think the Packers should have pushed from the Seattle 23 to try and get seven. A second touchdown, before the half, could have broken Seattle's spirit.)

In 2015 NFL, no lead less than 21 points is safe against a good team. Even if GB jumped up by 20 or 21, they would have jumped into the prevent and Seattle would have, eventually, caught momentum. I don't fault the Green Bay defense. They had nothing left at the end and did their damn job. Four turnovers and Lynch and Wilson didn't even get any real traction until the last four minutes. Even after the fake FG for a touchdown, the Green Bay defense held.

If McCarthy doesn't win the NFC North next year, I could the Broncos/Fox "mutual parting".

 

Not entirely. He could barely run, which Seattle clearly gameplanned for. Rodgers could move side to side but his lack of mobility right now takes away a major red zone component.

The first INT was on Rodgers. A healthy Rodgers probably runs for a first down. Instead, he threw it late and short for a pick.

The second one had me puzzled in that I was wondering why they were throwing it in the sideways rain at the time. Likely a miscommunication with the receiver.

When Green Bay trailed and they needed points, Rodgers got them down the field in a hurry but, again, in the tighter space (not red zone but close), they couldn't get the ten yards -- even with all three timeouts. As this season went on, the Packers' red zone offensive output went down sharply. Rodgers bears some responsibility for that, gimpy leg or not.

 

Many times worse. They ate the Seahawks' lunch for 57 minutes, then puked it all up.

 

Yeah, the second INT came at a time where they had run the ball really well and seemed to abandon it. Points there might have been a crushing blow.

 

The difference between P. Manning and Luck is that so far, the inferior Colts teams for which Manning was quarterback were at least able to give the Pats a game.