It wasn't pretty, but I'm encouraged for several reasons. Sure there were negatives - the drops, injuries and the ever-present penalties, but there were things I wanted to see and some important positives. First of all, the Packers NEEDED a win to feel good about themselves again. Jordan Love needed a performance like this as a confidence re-builder. Christian Watson needed this to prove to himself he was truly back to his old self after coming back so soon from the ACL injury. Finally and most importantly, Matt LaFleur NEEDED a game like this to pull himself (and the Packers' offense) out of the rut they were in. That was the Giant step.
I've lamented ad nauseam in this space about the poor overall offensive game plan we were presented over the last few games. It was basically the same every week and lacked imagination and creativity. There was a small step last week, as we saw the elimination of the wide receiver screens and throws behind the line of scrimmage, but that was about it. This week was different. LaFleur found some missing pages of his playbook and incorporated some of those concepts into his game plan.
I counted nine passes on first down.Yes, FIRST DOWN! The second and long shotgun handoff was gratefully missing in action. Jordan Love was actually moved out of the pocket by design a couple of times. We the I-formation was pulled from the scrap heap and Love was under center much more this game (I LOVE THIS!). There was a real effort made to get the ball into the hands of their most dynamic receiver - Christian Watson. And they actually used Chris Brooks for what he does best - pass protect.
When Luke Musgrave was playing terribly, they didn't stick with him.too long; he hardly played the second half. Aaron Banks showed some signs of life and had his best game. Sean Rhyan held up ok against the Meadowlands Monster, Dexter Lawrence. There wasn't a big drop-off from Josh Jacobs to Emmanuel Wilson. Jordan Love led another fourth quarter touchdown drive to put the Packers ahead. And Jordan Love actually kept the ball on a run option (run options are useless if the defense never sees the quarterback keep it).
These are all positive steps for what had been a floundering offense. The big question is, can LaFleur and the Packers keep the momentum going in this direction without falling back into boring and predictable habits? Even better, can they expand on what they did this game and take another step forward against the Vikings? If the answer is yes, I'll be feeling a lot better about this team's chances.
Here's a suggestion, and I've said it before. Love seems to best run the offense when it's pass to set up the run and in uptempo mode. For the love of Lombardi, why not come out and start the game in tempo one time? That's what the Giants did and they marched down the field to score a touchdown before the Packers had a chance to adjust. Do that to the Vikings next week - please!
Jordan Love had a wonderful game and if not for all the WR drops, might have had his best game statistically. One big thing that looked different to me was his willingness to stand in the pocket and get off a pass at the last millisecond, knowing he was about to take a hit. That has been a bit lacking this season, as we've seen him get rattled by a big pass rush (see Cleveland and Philly games, specifically). On Sunday, he took some big hits from Dexter Lawrence and company and didn't flinch.
The Packers had the second-highest play action rate of the season against the Giants and I believe Love does his best work from behind center as it helps him get into a smooth rhythm. Continue that please!
Finally a criticism and a major pet peeve of mine you've likely heard many times before. That is, showing more awareness of the game situation and making decisions accordingly. Specifically, I'm referring to the third and two play toward the end of the third quarter when they took a deep shot. Whether the pass was completed or not (it wasn't) is immaterial. What made this the absolute wrong time to do it was that the Giants had just kept the Packers defense on the field for nine and a half minutes. In that situation, just get the third down and try to hold the ball yourselves a bit to give your defense a break. Instead, they had to get right back on the field, whereupon the Giants' offense held the ball for another eight minutes, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown against an exhausted Packers defense. There are good times to take a deep shot and there are bad times, based on the situation. I wish they would be more cognizant of that.
A reminder, don't sell your tickets to Vikings fans!
#GoPackGo