Grading Green Bay Packers Offense

We are wrapping up the Green Bay Packers season with a grading of the offense/defense/special teams of the 2013 season.  I will also choose an MVP for both sides of the ball. 

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers - This is easily the toughest grade to make because you look at it from only about half of the season and if we do, Rodgers did not really have a great season. Let's be honest, he plays out the full season, he might be a fringe Pro Bowler but he did not have a stellar season before he got hurt. You could argue based off the Minnesota game, Rodgers found his stroke again and on his way to make his run, but no one will know that answer, thanks to a collarbone. Although at the end of the day, Rodgers made a case for being the most valuable player every year with his performance in the final game of the season. GRADE B+

Matt Flynn - If you look at 'season-savers', Flynn is one of them for a couple of games. Coming in against Minnesota pulling the team back in the fourth quarter to force a tie and then once again, a comeback against Dallas that will be remembered forever. But there are some lowlights including the whole Detroit game, and generally most of the Pittsburgh game as well. Flynn had such a bad year with other teams, and somewhat redeemed himself with the Packers. GRADE B

Scott Tolzien - The whole idea of Wisconsin Badgers' former quarterback coming in to save Green Bay was too much of a narrative. He made some plays against Philadelphia and one nifty spin move into the end zone against Minnesota, but truthfully, he did not doing anything amazing for Green Bay.  GRADE C-

Seneca Wallace - Nothing real exciting here except for a story when I was in Iowa for a wedding in mid-September. Sunday riding an elevator to breakfast after one of the biggest blackouts since age 21 weary as all get out, possibly still drunk. A conversation starts with an old man about football in Iowa and Green Bay. He goes 'Y'all have one of our boys up there.' Being a dumbass, I assumed he was a Hawkeye fan and asked who? (Forgetting Mike Daniels) and he said 'Seneca Wallace' Completely forgot he held a roster spot back then, oh wrong of me to think of him like that. GRADE D-

Running Back
Eddie Lacy - What a year for Lacy. He played really well all season as a rookie, and got better as the year progressed. If there is one player, I wanted to see further in the postseason was Lacy. He seemed to get stronger as the year moved on. He battled through an ankle injury, asthma and a early season concussion to be likely the Rookie of the Year on the offensive side of the ball.  This might be a little hyperbolic and a little over-the-top but I think Green Bay has two MVP contenders in the next three years in Rodgers and Lacy. He is my MVP for the season without question.  GRADE A

James Starks - I never realized it until FOX Sports Peter Schrager pointed out Lacy and Starks are a ton like Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw plus they happen to wear the same numbers. I would be fascinated to see another year of Starks with Lacy because I think they can be a formidable duo, but he will get a near starter money whether it be from Cleveland, New York Jets or any other team needing to upgrade at running back. Not to mention, Johnathan Franklin can be the change of pace back.  Really nice year for Starks when people thought he might not make the roster in August. GRADE B+

Wide Receiver
Jordy Nelson - Strange year for Jordy. One of the things I expected to be a narrative by Fall of 2014 is how much Rodgers needs Jordy and vice versa. Without Rodgers, Nelson had 504 yards with only one touchdown.  With Rodgers, Nelson had 810 yards with seven touchdowns. Now this amounted to a career season for Nelson going over 1,300 yards for the year becoming the true number one for this team. He finished seventh in Packers history for receiving yards in the year. Nelson is rounding right into his prime and that's a scary thought. GRADE A-

James Jones - Football is weird. Jones had 15 touchdowns last season, and this year, three. He did have over 800 yards, and it was very quiet. He only had two games with over 100 yards of receiving, and it occurred in the first six weeks of the season. A fine year for Jones, but nothing really eye-opening. I do not expect Jones back next year. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did report he played the last two games with broken ribs which is impressive. Loaded wide receiver draft coupled with the play of Jarrett Boykin. I stuck behind him and like him a lot yet I really have no idea how he comes back next year. GRADE B-

Randall Cobb - Tough year for Randy. It is not truly slump as Matt Elam broke his goddamn leg. And let's not forget he had probably one of the most memorable catches in Green Bay's history. That will vault him a couple grades higher for Cobb this season but this season will probably be looked at as a blip on the radar with one major moment involved. GRADE C+

Jarrett Boykin - What is truly weird is I looked at Boykin's numbers, and I would think he would be right around what Jones did for the year, but that is not accurate. Granted, this could have something to do with Boykin not seeing time until the Baltimore game due to injuries. He had his coming out party against Cleveland with a touchdown and over 100 yards. Three out of the next four games Boykin would have at least 85 yards of receiving. It is truly exciting to see what will happen with him next season. Future is bright. GRADE B+

Tight End
Andrew Quarless - At the beginning of the year, I said 'Quarless is the guy you should be booing instead of Jermichael Finley, he drops the balls, not J-Mike.'  After Finley's injury, Quarless did not really step up into the offense until Rodgers went down. He did not have a multiple touchdown game nor a 100 yard game yet he played well against Atlanta and Dallas becoming more reliable as a tight end. He could come back and compete with a rookie tight end because they could really get a game-changer at that position early on. GRADE C+

Jermichael Finley - I am not going to give J-Mike a grade, but I wanted to type a few words saying it was awesome to watch him play with the Packers. I enjoyed being an unabashed defender of him, and I will return to my post if he comes back to the team although I highly doubt he will return. With modern medicine the way it is, I would not doubt Finley comes back and helps out a team next season whether it be Green Bay or not.

Offensive Line
David Bakhtiari - It is really hard to ask a fourth-round draft pick to play left tackle for Green Bay where he needs to protect arguably the best quarterback's blindside. Bakhtiari took some rookie lumps, but in reality, the future looks really bright for him. He handled Jared Allen twice, and did adequately against some of the other greats on the defensive line. The higher grade is due to what Green Bay asked him to do this season. Most people do not understand how hard this was for him. GRADE A-

Josh Sitton - I might get mad about his social media antics at times, but Sitton had a hell of year along with the others inside. Sitton helped bring back the Packers rushing attack. I honestly think he is a better run blocker than pass blocker, and that has not been known until this year. Although when it all said and done, he is a top five offensive guard plus making the smooth transition to the left side helps his grade as well. GRADE B+

Evan Dietrich-Smith - I do not know what to make of EDS. I am not sure he is a great offensive lineman, but I do not think he is average. Somewhere in-between would fit EDS perfectly. He is not the best at anything yet he gets the job, night in and night out.  He gets away with a lot of shit, and that's important when you are an inside man. Dietrich-Smith needs a new contract, and he might be the second-most important to return besides Sam Shields. It is tough to find centers to combine with great quarterbacks. If Rodgers wants EDS, the organization will keep him. GRADE B

T.J. Lang - I feel like he will probably get skewered for an average season because of who played right tackle next to him. As an offensive line, sometimes the guy next to you can limit what you did this season or what people thought of you. I felt like Lang had a close to Pro Bowl year honestly. He did just as much as Sitton to push the line and make things happen inside. Lang will be a solid right guard for years to come. GRADE B+

Don Barclay - I think next year will be better for Barclay. He is the lone lowlight on this offensive line. He will be perfect for the Marshall Newhouse role when Bryan Bulaga comes back into the fold next season. Barclay had too many moments where he got exposed leading to the pocket collapsing. Additionally, he did not do as much on the stretch/toss runs with Lacy/Starks. GRADE C

Marshall Newhouse - I hope I never have to watch this man play football again for my team. GRADE F

Sportandfashion-news Packers Preview: San Francisco vs. Green Bay

There is a chance the season could end like it began with Green Bay losing to San Francisco. This is the fourth time in the last two years Green Bay and San Francisco have played each other with the Niners taking all three games. It is not officially a rivalry renewed (Remember how many times they played in the 1990's) until Green Bay can win a football game against this generation's San Francisco team.

It is really hard to point to anything from the first game and say 'Well that's going to be the difference in this one.' When they played in September, I sweated out a horrible hangover after a fun guys weekend in Green Bay, and it was about 75 degrees in Wisconsin with the same sort of weather in San Francisco. Now, it has a chance to be the coldest game in the NFL history. Weather is not the only difference. People are back from injury, people are injured that were not in September. It is a completely different game. 

Colin Kaepernick is a player whom currently has ownership over Green Bay. The numbers are silly in the last two games when he faced Green Bay plus he is coming on strong as of late with the addition of Michael Crabtree. Kaepernick never really dealt with this kind of weather yet in his career, and when he does play in colder weather games, it is inconsistent at best.  Green Bay will need to be better in terms of contain as this has been a problem that burned them in the past with Kaepernick as well as running backs like Frank Gore from bouncing it to the outside. If Green Bay can bottle up Kaepenrick and Gore, it will probably result in a good day for them. 

It is probably assumed Gore will eat on Sunday against a weak Packers defense. Seeing what Matt Forte did means Gore could have a massive day on Sunday. Now he is bothered by a knee injury and one thing I found interesting just looking his logs this year is he strings together three or four big games then he struggles for a couple. This would also be called inconsistency friends as well as grasping for straws with a shitty defense. Gore only had 14 yards albeit against a tough as nails Arizona's defense. I cannot help, but think this is just a wonky statistic thing meaning Gore will likely have over 80 yards of rushing. More importantly is not what Green Bay does against Gore, but the others who will run the football comparable to when you let a basketball star beat you and not his or her teammates. 

As for the other quarterback, it will be the second game back for Aaron Rodgers. He did not play well in his first game back. If we were to do a Packers Classroom, it was a C performance for Aaron. But this could be a game where he comes up with a big performance. I realize it will be colder than a beautiful girl when I try to talk to her, but hear me out with this out. Matt Ryan had 348 yards against San Francisco's pass defense two weeks ago completing 37 passes with only eleven incompletions. Carson Palmer had 407 yards last week and nobody is panicking about how San Francisco will stop Rodgers?  Even with the cold, no one should be shocked if Rodgers comes up with a big day on Sunday. 

While it seems like passing through heavy winds might not be the best idea, it could be the only one. Green Bay is running the ball well, but San Francisco's rush defense will lock most teams down. They need to have some creativity with their running game. The short side toss did not work against Chicago and it will certainly most not work against a fast San Francisco defense. Now do I believe the sweep will work because San Francisco's defense is very aggressive meaning they can get caught up in something like a sweep play yet it needs to be with the field. Please I cannot take many more short-side tosses in my life because I am pretty sure I will jump directly out of my window. 

Before I make my pick, let me address a couple things... I hate to sound like a Packers elitist, but here we go. Everyone needs to stop bitching about Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. They do not hate your team, I promise. Look I love Cris Collinsworth, but does he sometimes say things I disagree with? Absolutely. Announcers are not always accurate just like we in life are not always accurate at our jobs. Seeing this petition against Aikman is embarrassing to Packers fans. It is up there with 'Best Fans in Baseball' type bullshit we see from St. Louis.  Also embarrassing was Packer fans getting on Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for taking San Francisco over Green Bay... HOW DARE THE PACKER BEAT WRITER PICK AGAINST THE TEAM... U ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB, TELL ME NICE THINGS, NOT BAD THINGS.  

Well I am going to disagree with Dunne. It is probably because I am a homer but I also truly believe Green Bay can win this game. They will need to force a couple turnovers as well as play close to mistake-free football as possible. Rodgers always shows up for San Francisco, and that will happen on Sunday plus Eddie Lacy has one of the best days on the ground against San Fran's defense. Green Bay's defense holds Kaepernick in check while Gore has a big day. This is another nail-biter but Packers pull it out. 

Green Bay 28 San Francisco 23 

Charlie. 

Sportandfashion-news Packer Preview: Packers vs. Bears

I have to be honest with everyone, I did not want to have a chance at winning the division at the beginning of the week. People will call that stupid. People will call that dumb. But honestly, I was emotionally spent. I could not take it anymore. Someone asked me for my thoughts on the game and I could not tell them because the whole thought exhausted me at the beginning of the week.  When a team puts you through the meat grinder for two months, you get broken down. Does this make me a bad fan?  To some, probably but I had enough of watching Matt Flynn bungle opportunities and MD Jennings miss tackles, I just wanted closure. But things can change in an instant and it did with the return of Aaron Rodgers. 

My mood changed on an instant. I started thinking about ways Rodgers can help Green Bay move past the Bears and get into the playoffs where they might have a chance even if with all that has went wrong with the season. The classic and maybe the only classic scene of Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III sums it best for me.  The season had pulled me back in with Rodgers, and I became elated as he would be going up against a struggling Chicago Bears defense. Green Bay still needs to commit to a balanced attack on Sunday with easing Rodgers back into place and a heavy dose of Bash/Slash as my good friend Seth likes to call our running back tandem. 

Mike McCarthy needs to look at some of his previous game plans to start out with Rodgers on Sunday. The short passes he used with Flynn should be utilized greatly in the first quarter of the game. There is no real reason for Rodgers to be in seven-step drops to start the football game off.  In the second through fourth quarter, this all goes out the window. Maybe even wait until halftime, but McCarthy needs to stick to a Santorum-style playbook for the first quarter. Although what the hell do I know, Mac might show off his elephant nuts and call a four vertical route first play of the game with Rodgers hits Jordy Nelson in stride with McCarthy doing the DX chop down the field. While I feel like this is a complete joke, I could totally see it happen minus the DX chop. 

No matter what the play calling is like in the first quarter, there needs to be a consistent commitment to run the football. Chicago cannot stop the run. Eddie Lacy decimated this defense the first time around. James Starks got into a mix slightly as well. These two guys needs to be prominently featured throughout the game. Not only will this keep the defense rested, but it makes for the playaction beauties we have seen from Rodgers in the past. I do hope Starks sees some time on Sunday with Lacy's ankle being a little iffy, I do not want to see a workhouse load from Lacy. This offense figures to have a big game on Sunday in all facets of the game.   

Even with Rodgers returning, this is not a cakewalk for Green Bay. Chicago is still a potent team despite their defensive struggles this season. People can point to the Philadelphia game or giving up 24 points to Cleveland.  There is also a ground swell about Jay Cutler's record against Green Bay which is 1-8 if you have not heard enough talking heads discuss it.  The fact of the matter is for Chicago to win this football and steal all the Rodgers excitement, they need two things to happen - Matt Fore to be a factor and Cutler to limit his mistakes as much as possible.  

The one thing it seems like no one is talking about from last week's Philadelphia game is how poorly Forte played in both running the football and pass-blocking. Now, we can all have bad games, but could he be a little burned out from the season?  Forte has 267 carries already for the season which is the most since his rookie year in 2008 when he carried the ball 316 times. He did not look sharp against an average Philadelphia team, and he will need to be the x-factor on Sunday for Chicago to win this football game. One place where Forte can really take advantage is the flats. Green Bay's lack of tackling makes Forte lethal out there, and he could have a big game just being the safety valve for this Bears team. 

The other way Chicago wins this football game is for Cutler to play within himself against Green Bay. In his last two years, Cutler has four touchdowns to seven interceptions versus Packers' defenses with a marginal quarterback rating.  He tends to make inexplicable errors at the wrong time when playing Green Bay. It seems like once one thing goes wrong for Cutler, everything else just crumbles like a house of cards. That cannot happen on Sunday. With Rodgers in there, the assumption would be Green Bay's recent rash of turnovers will disappear meaning Chicago will have limited opportunities to score thus Cutler cannot be Mr. Hyde if they want to win this football game.

While I do think people are treating this like Green Bay is winning it no matter what and that makes me nervous, I still think the Packers come out victorious in this one. Rodgers will not have an iconic performance out there, but I do think he plays a large part in Green Bay winning. It will come more from a spirited game from the two running backs as well as the secondary playing well enough to help Green Bay out in a cold weather shootout. Green Bay 35 Chicago 31  

Charlie.