At halftime of this game, I was so disgusted, I ran upstairs and raided the snack cabinet. Mixed nuts, tortilla chips, granola bars, I had them all in a ten minute period, hoping the food would wipe away the disgusting feeling I had that the Packers were going to soil themselves on Sunday Night National TV against their old quarterback. Mind you, this is something I almost NEVER do. I have an unwritten rule of not eating anything after dinner, something that helped me shed 25 pounds and keep it off. But the last thing I wanted to do was sit there in front of the TV at halftime and ruminate on how the Packers offense was ONCE AGAIN, shooting themselves in the foot. So I caved, and I ate. But it didn't really make me feel any better, sooooooo, lesson learned.
The Packers first half offense:
~First drive, dropped pass on third down, three and out.
~Second drive, six plays and a touchdown. the key? Never had to convert a third down.
~Third drive, six plays, Doubs drops another 3rd down pass down the left sideline. Wasn't an easy catch, but he got both hands on it. McManus misses the field goal.
~Fourth drive, three plays, including my all-time favorite, the second and 10 inside handoff which gains a yard. After an incomplete 3rd down pass. The Packers punt.
~Fifth drive, another three and out, this time Kraft drops a third down pass. The Packers punt.
~Sixth drive, 34 seconds left in the half. Love is allowed to air it out and completes four straight passes. McManus misses the field goal.
The Packers finished the half 0/4 on third down. Giving the ball back to Aaron Rodgers is never a good thing, which just added to my anxiety. Sure enough, he kept moving the Steelers down the field, but luckily, the Packers' defense was able to force field goals in all cases but one.
The second half offense was like watching a different team. LaFleur took the handcuffs off of Love and Jordan responded with the best game of his career and yet another stellar late game performance. I think it's time for LaFleur to let go of some of his predispositions and let Love be Love.
I've been asked about Jordan Love many times by many people this year if I think he will be THE GUY for Green Bay. I have reserved judgment and answered simply that what he does this year will allow me to truly know how I feel and answer that question. There's still more than half a season to go but I'm at about 80% yes and trending up right now.
Josh Jacobs is playing hurt. This is an opinion but I think I'm right. Since he suffered that calf injury, he has played, but he is just not breaking tackles and gaining yards after contact like he usually does. With the Packers offensive line, breaking tackles is a must and Jacobs is just being taken down too easily. I think he should be given this week off, which will probably require the use of some chloroform and duct tape, but whatever. Let him get fully healthy.
There was some nice Nate Hobbs subterfuge in the week leading up to the Steelers game. In the LaFleur press conferences, he kept saying how he was confident Nate Hobbs would bounce back with a strong game. Considering Hobbs was told to ride the pine Sunday night, perhaps the Packers wanted the Steelers to game plan for Hobbs to be the cornerback all week and then spring the Valentine surprise on them when the game started. I can just picture the Steelers giddily scheming up all kinds of "Hobbs beaters" in the offense game plan meetings.
Speaking of Valentine, as the conductor of the Carrington Valentine Hype Train, I'm pleased that the Packers finally listened to my pleas since training camp to play Valentine. Is he a Pro Bowler? No. Is he a "star?" No. But super competitive is what he is. He is not intimidated by any star receiver and will do everything he can to make life difficult for them. He also has that very short memory that cornerbacks need. If he gets beat, and he will, the very next play he'll be in that receiver's face again. He's not perfect, but he's better than Hobbs.
Personally, if I'm the offensive coordinator, when a go route is schemed up, I'm using Watson or Golden, not Doubs. Seems obvious, but...
Special Teams mistakes will just never go away. For whatever reason the Packers are cursed. Thanks to Andy Herman for compiling this list:
Holding on a kick return
A kickoff that goes into the end zone after hitting the landing zone (puts the Steelers on the 35 yard line)
Two missed field goals
A muffed punt
Holding on a punt return
Two Packers kick returns that only made it to the 23 and 25 yard lines.
But on the bright side, nothing got blocked!
I saw that the Bengals recently released Mike Pennell. He could be a useful depth pickup for the Packers, but I think they are committed to developing Brinson and Stackhouse, even in what was described as a year to turn up the urgency.
Something I learned from Packers.com: Jordan Love tied Bret Favre's franchise record of twenty straight completions, but in reality, he threw 21 straight. However, any stats (receptions, rushes, etc.) on two point conversions don't count as individual statistics, only the points are counted. So statistically, it's like his pass to DOubs on the two point try never happened.
Does this sound Familiar? Jaire Alexander is supposedly somewhat healthy again (not listed on the injury report) and has been practicing, but at least four times he has been a healthy scratch after going through the pre-game warm-ups. Major kudos to Gutey for letting him walk.
Go Pack Go!