NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Jclombardi reviews and grades the Packers loss to Bears.

Guest senior writer jclombardi @ http://lombardiave.com

Summary: With the game between the undefeated Packers and Bears going down to the wire, Packers' mistakes and penalties eventually set up the winning field goal to hand the victory to the Bears 20-17.  The Packers had 18 penalties, allowed a blocked field goal by Bears DE Peppers, committed crucial special teams mistakes, and had a winning drive stopped by a key fumble leading to closing meltdown and winning Bears field goal at the end of the game. Chicago is 3-0 and alone atop the NFC North. Green Bay fell to 2-1.

Game Balls: QB Rodgers. TE Finley.

Report Card Grades–Good, Bad, & Ugly (LA vs. SE):

Pass Offense—C vs C. With soft protection all day, QB Rodgers had a good game throwing 34 0f 45 passes for 316 yards and two total touchdowns.  TE Finley had 9 catches for 115 yards. Finley developed cramps in the fourth quarter during an inopportune time with the Packers having their last offensive drive series. WR Driver had 9 catches for 61 yards. WR Jones 5 catches for 55 yards, but he fumbled on the winning drive and giving the game to the Bears. He has got to be more consistent. RB Jackson had 4 catches for 27 yards.  WR Nelson had 3 catches for 20 yards. WR Jennings had 2 catches for 18 yards and one touchdown.  He had a disappointing day along with rookie TE Quarless.

The offensive unit had eight penalties. The line seemed a bit slow causing their penalties against the physical and emotional Bears. OT Tauscher had another bad first half. He and Clifton had 3 penalties each. OT Clifton gave up a few pressures. C Wells had better days allowing some pressures. G Colledge give up some pressures and two bad runs. OG Sitton had the best day of the group.

Rush Offense—D vs C-. Facing a tough schedule, the Packers getting fifteen rushes for 63 yards averaging 4.2 yards is not going to make it for the season and the playoffs. The run blocking was horrible at times, especially by the tight ends. FB Kuhn rushed 6 carries for 31 yards.  Less effective, lead running back Jackson had 7 carries for 31. RB Jackson just fails to see the cutback lanes running into tackles.

Pass Defense—D+ vs D. Bears quarterback Cutler had a decent day facing pressure in only one half.  He three 16 times for 221 yards and one touchdown.  The Packers simply had an unimpressive coverage night excluding CB Williams. CB Woodson had several bad plays including another interference call. S Collins dropped two interceptions. Two big interceptions were negated by an interference penalty by rookie safety Burnett and a roughing-the-passer penalty by rookie outside linebacker Zombo. Rookie CB Shields gave up three big offensive plays. LB Chillar gave up several downfield plays to TE Olsen including a touchdown.

Rush defense—B+ vs B. The Packers rush defense was good excluding Cutler's scrambling yardage. The Bears had 18 carries for 77 yards averaging a good 4.3 yards.  The numbers look good due to Cutler scrambling three times for 37 yards.  RB Forte had 11 carries for only 29 yards.

Special teams—F vs D-. P Masthay had two of three booming punts, 58 and 57 yards.  Yet, his net average was an awful 19 yards. Simply, the coverage units failed to do their jobs outmatched by the more physical and emotional Bears. The Bears' return specialist Hester had a big game returning 28 yards on a bad line-drive 35 yards punts. Then, in the third quarter, Hester returned a 57 yards punt for a 62 yards touchdown. K Crosby kicked one kickoff out-of- bounds. His miss one due to a blocked field goal by DE Peppers. KR Nelson averaged a poor 19.4 yards on five kickoffs, but he had one for 40 yards.

Coaching—F vs D. The Packers were outmuscled, outplayed, and outcoached showing a complete lack of professional discipline. They had eighteen penalties and awful special teams coverage. The former falls on head coach Mike McCarthy for the lack of discipline not showing up in a prime-time game. The latter falls on special teams coordinator Slocum who was foolish to let P Masthay kick to Hester.

Overall Game—D vs CBS Sportsline Overall Grade–F. The Packers lost a division game that they should have had complete control over if it wasn't for a franchise-tying 18 penalties, two huge special teams miscues and a big fumble by WR James Jones. Packers have only themselves to blame.

Commentary: No surprise. Old issues. Some of the veteran players simply had a bad game. Further, the Bears were going to target rookies CB Shields, S Burnett, and OLB Zombo who failed to do an adequate defensive performance.  The rookies played like rookies.  In the end, we forecast this scenario before the 2010 NFL season.  Thus, the Packers need to use a consistent high-powered offense to control the tempo of games until their rookies become more experienced players.  Every team will try to take advantage of these weaknesses on the Packers defense.

Jclombardi's Packers headlines & grades bloggers' reviews.

Guest senior writer jclombardi @ http://lombardiave.com

Commentary:  Based upon massive research and conversations with the Packers nation, we present the grades about Packers' bloggers reviews with their  good, bad, & ugly analysis about the unbearable Bears loss.  They are growing on this legendary senior writer and Packers lead blogger:

After missing what at the NFL level is considered a chip shot field goal Sunday in OT vs the Falcons, the Saints moved quickly to ink a kicker today, as reports are coming in that the team has signed 46-year old John Carney, who has been with the team on and off in the past.

The Saints have signed 46-year-old kicker John Carney to a one-year contract, a league source said Tuesday afternoon. Financial terms were not released, but it is believed to be for the veteran’s minimum. Kicker Garrett Hartley’s status with the team is unknown, but the team carried both kickers for much of the 2009 season. Carney was signed after Hartley missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime that would have given the Saints a win in their 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. On the season, Hartley is just 4-for-7 on field goal attempts.

Sean Payton has a soft spot for Hartley, as he was the kicker that got the Saints to the Super Bowl with a clutch kick in OT for the win over Minnesota, and he also had three field goals in the Super Bowl win over the Colts. Carney has helped Hartley in the past, and you have to wonder how long he will be with the Saints if Hartley can regain his confidence.

When Donovan McNabb was traded to the Redskins, we all knew Andy Reid would get to stand behind his new golden boy, Kevin Kolb, and prove that he made the right move. More importantly, Kolb would be able to prove the nay-sayers wrong by leading his Eagles past McNabb and the 'Skins. However, things have changed dramatically since we had all of those thoughts.

After being so heavily vested in Kolb leading his team, Reid made the switch to Michael Vick after just two games into the 2010 season. Vick played both well in a relief effort and as the full-time starter. While Kolb "continues his maturation process," Vick will look to lead the team to the playoffs and beyond.

Now that the Kolb-McNabb match-up has been put on the back burner, we will be looking at two Vick-McNabb match-ups this year. The two are both big play quarterbacks. We've seen McNabb make some big plays with his arm over the years in Philadelphia. Last week, we saw Vick do much of the same.

We've also seen both of these guys have a lot of success making plays with their feet over the years. I think they both are capable of doing so now but prefer to make plays with their arm first. Vick can still run with the best of them and I think McNabb still has a lot of talent with his feet although he's older and we don't see him do it as much anymore.

I think it's easy to pinpoint a lot similarities between the two quarterbacks taking the reins this week. However, only one of them will be able to escape Sunday with a win.

Play calling wizardry nothing short of masterful in K.C.

• Weapons aplenty: Offensively, this team is LOADED with guys who can rise the fans out of their seats.  From Jamaal Charles to Thomas Jones, Dexter McCluster to Tony Moeaki, Bowe to Chambers, someone’s always due to provide a jolt, a lift when the team needs it the most.  Special teams are superb, plays just happen when you throw Javier Arenas and McCluster back there in the return department.  You see the innovative ways the coaching staff is getting these electrifying playmakers involved.  This team is having FUN.  I love how Weis is getting his athletes with game-altering speed into the open field.  The more open this offense is, the better it helps out their “supposed” biggest weakness: Matt Cassel.  People tend to forget he’s very mobile, and the more you allow him to be nimble and use his feet, the more comfortable he is.  It also helps when Moeaki is making one-handed highlight reel touchdown snags.  Oh, and we haven’t even addressed Cassel’s best friend: the run game.  Charles and Jones complement each other as well as any other RB tandem in the league.  The dynamic duo provides the team with stability, consistency, and balance.
• Chargers are down more than usual: Ok, I know San Diego is notorious for getting off to slow starts.  But losing to Seattle?  I mean, Leon Washington beat them.  Norv Turner’s club can’t even cover kicks, let alone run the football.  The path to the AFC West crown goes through the division champion Chargers, the squad who currently holds the crown.  Kansas City already is one up on San Diego.  I feel as if the Chiefs owe it to their fans to win this year.  They have been waiting so long.  So bad, for so long.  The Trent Green/Priest Holmes era has been over for quite some time.  It’s been long overdue.  This is the year Philip Rivers’ reign comes to an end.  They don’t have the playmakers the Chiefs possess and the defense looks rather average.  There’s something going on behind the scenes, I can’t exactly put a finger on it, but the holdouts could have more to do with the clamoring Chargers than we know about.
• Denver’s run atop the AFC West relied upon stars: Brandon Marshall, Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins, D.J. Williams, Elvis Dumervil had to have bring their a-games week in and week out in order for the Broncos to win.  It was not a balanced effort, like the way the Chiefs are doing it.  No unsung heroes.  In K.C., you have guys filling in and stepping up all over the place.  More of a “destiny” feel to this club.  Whereas in Denver, you had the sense they were “destined” to fall.  You almost knew for awhile it was coming down, bound to choke.  No “back to earth” talk with these Chiefs, this is a real, true “reality” show.  Also, the Chiefs have a solid ground game intact, Broncos were always hit or miss.  There’s more a team atmosphere around Arrowhead Stadium.  This is the year for change.  Todd Haley has a good thing going.  Playing like loose cannons, you have to admire the team’s camaraderie and togetherness as a team.  The dots are connecting, the pieces are in place, unlike in Denver.  If the Chiefs best don’t show up one Sunday, they have the necessary back-up to get the job done.  Don’t be so fast to compare Kansas City with last year’s Broncos.

Things I Know:

Big yardage by a QB in a game is a bad sign. It is conventional wisdom that a big yardage game by a QB was a sign of a winning game.  The last few years, it's been the other way around.  Look at the top QB yardages performances of the first three weeks.  Top 3 out of 4 week 1, loss.  Top 3 out of 4 week 2, loss.  The top 5 (and 6 out of 7) of week 3, loss.  There may be many reasons for this, but it's been a building trend.

Big yardage by a running back is a good sign. Meanwhile, the opposite seems to continue to be true for running backs.  The top 3 out of 4 week1, win.  The top 3 out of 4 week 2, win.  The top 4 out of 5 week 3, win.  The hot topic lately has been "The NFL is a passing league."  It's probably better said, "You need a top QB to pull out tough wins." or something like that.  Many will argue that these numbers are the result of being ahead in a game, but that's not the point.  Some teams don't have a good enough running game to even "run out the clock" because of the focus on the passing game.

Carson Palmer is just not an elite QB. It's done; there shouldn't be an argument anymore.  Up through the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Carson Palmer was commonly referred to as an up and coming QB that was on the cusp of being an elite QB.  Sometimes Palmer was even outright called elite, sitting right behind Brady and Manning.  But that seems like ages ago now.  The elite QBs have all had multiple years with a QB passer rating above 100.  All of them have a career QB rating above 90.  Palmer?  Only 2005 for above 100 and a career passer rating below 90.  In 2006 Palmer had a 93.9, but since then he hasn't even sniffed the 100 mark.  This year he has talent around him again and he actually looks worse.

Things I think I know.

I think Green Bay needs another RB to have a chance to win it all. The Green Bay Packers were a common SuperBowl pick going into the season, but the loss of Ryan Grant may turn out bigger than it should have been.  Brandon Jackson is a third down back that can't carry the load full time.  Kuhn is a good back, but is more of short yardage back.  It's almost like the Packers didn't have a backup RB at all.  Just three role players, full time back, third down back, short yardage back.  Without a full time RB that can be depended on, the opposing defenses will just tee off on Aaron Rodgers every play.   That offensive line isn't good enough for that.  They may still win the division or at least make the playoffs, but without a run game, how do they win in the playoffs?

I think Mike Vick has finally grown up. Everyone seems astonished that Mike Vick is throwing out of the pocket so well now.  There is a specific reason.  Word was that Mike Vick was lazy when it came to preparation and game film while in Atlanta.  That he knew he was good enough to win purely by out-playing opponents and not out-thinking them.  When he was out of football for a couple of years, he either was afraid of not having that edge or it finally got through to him that he had to be better prepared.  Either way, it matured Vick that much to make him better.  He looks this good because he knows what to expect now.  Who knows if he'll keep it up, but it makes sense considering what was being reported prior to him getting his chance.

I think it might be a while before Brett Favre is back to form. If it happens at all.  Yes, the Viking won, but it was in spite of Brett's play.  Only one touchdown pass that looked overthrown to a wide open Percy Harvin.  2 INTs, 200 yards and a 68.4 passer rating.  Peterson's 160 yards rushing is what won the game.  Hopefully for Viking's fans Brett will improve as he gets more in sync with the receivers and Sidney Rice comes back after mid-season, but it wasn't a comeback game for Brett.  Long way to go, but still looking for that good game from Brett.

Things I know I don’t know.

KC can't be this good, can they? It's a long way out, we have 13 games left, but KC just can't be this good.  I mean, they added Thomas Jones and Eric Berry.  They seem to have gotten a good players in the draft with Dexter McCluster and Tony Moeaki.  Suddenly Tyson Jackson looks good and Dwayne Bowe is looking better.  But really?  I'm not a big Matt Cassell believer and I don't see how this happened after last year's performance.  Some of Scott Pioli's moves have confused most people and was supposed to be destined to fail.  Yes, the AFC west is pretty mediocre if not just outright bad, but really?

What's going on with kickers? It seems like kickers are missing more big kicks in the last few years than in the past.  Or is it just a perspective thing.  As the old war horses like Morten Anderson, John Carney, Jason Elam, and Gary Anderson fade off in the sunset, are the young bucks ready to step up?   Guys like Nick Folk, Matt Prater, Garrett Hartley and Lawrence Tynes are supposed to be the next great line of kickers.  But are they?  I don't see it, but hey, I don't know for sure.

Will we have an undefeated team at 6-0 or beyond? Only three teams left.  Pittsburgh faces Baltimore next week and would have to beat Miami to go 6-0.  Kansas City faces Indy and Houston in its next two games.  Chicago has the best shot with the Giants, Carolina and Seattle in the next three games.  But the next two are road games and the Giants could be primed for a comeback win next week at home.  Hmmm, maybe Chicago can do it; the next really tough games would be Minn and Miami to go 9-0 and 10-0.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports via twitter that the Jaguars have claimed Trent Edwards off waivers. The move doesn’t come as a surprise given the Jaguars’ shaky quarterback play and the season-ending injury to Luke McCown. Edwards likely jumps ahead of Todd Bouman as the No. 2 on the depth chart, and should have a chance to start at some point in the season.

Williams’ workload will be full blast in the Superdome Sunday.

• Falcons hangover: This is the perfect time to go into New Orleans and upset the Saints.  Brees’ boys are coming off a game they should have won in OT.  Don’t you think they will be emotionally haywire?  I believe there’s a lingering effect after such a tough loss.  Look at Washington last week against St. Louis.  Losing in overtime takes a toll on you.  Not only physically, but also mentally.  The Saints are kicking themselves in the foot.  As we speak, they are trying out field goal kickers.  The offense looks out of sync.  Something is wrong, get ‘em while they’re shaken and out of sorts.
• Panthers perfect game plan: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart can control the clock, tempo, and keep it at a Panthers pace.  Get back to basics, your calling card.  Just follow what the 49ers and Falcons did by running Gore and Turner at will.  The Saints defense cannot get off the field on 3rd downs.  They are built to force turnovers, not to limit yards.  Big plays will be hard to come by, that doesn’t matter.  To beat the Saints you have to hold on to the ball and keep Brees off the field.  Simple.  This team fits the mold to beat the Saints.  They are familiar with Sean Payton’s tricks.  They have a solid secondary that can prevent yards after the catch, an area where the Saints thrive and get you.  Let the RB combo go to work, and watch the rook Clausen excel on play-action.
• Steve Smith/Jon Beason: Carolina has the intensity.  Watch the two leaders bring it up a notch.  Everyone will follow their lead in a game of this magnitude.  Panthers need a win, urgency will be in full force.  Beason’s troops do a good job of patrolling the middle, an area Brees loves to attack on short-intermediate crossing routes.  Dink and dunk will be denied by Beason’s bunch.  On the other side of the ball, Steve Smith has to get going.  This is a divisional game, he’s getting up big-time for this one.  Smith can do his work after the catch.  Watch him get involved early and often with the Cats finding creative ways to get him the rock.  Two big players, two big games, more reason to think the Panthers are due, ripe to upset a sputtering Saints squad.

Sunday's game against the Rams proved one thing—the Skins are back.  This is exactly the kind of bumbling, shoulder-shrugging, excuse-making team that has tormented its fans for the last eight years.

Once again, the underdogs come out smelling like roses.  Once again, opposing teams break old records and set a few new ones.  Once again, the team and its coaches do not respond in any viable way after the fact.

Granted, there were some stellar moments.  McNabb's 26-yard run was a crowd hit, as were Karem Moore's interception, Devin Thomas' run backs, and Moss's spectacular catches.  But they were too few and too far between.

I think we all agree that what happened on Sunday was unacceptable.  Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to do about it.  I'm not going to pretend that my opinion will get noticed by anyone in the front office, but I'm going to put it out there anyway.

From one lifelong fan to the team she loves—here are the five things the Redskins need to improve if they want to get back to a .500 season.

1)  Focus. Perhaps the most sickening moment of the game for me (and this is truly a tough call) was when DeAngelo Hall slipped and fell without being touched and without getting anywhere close to the receiver.

In recent interviews, Haynesworth claims the team didn't prepare, Fletcher sounds uncertain about how many points the Rams actually scored, and Portis suggests that the team wasn't familiar with all the Rams' personnel.

After the heartbreaking loss to the Texans, preparation should have been much more strenuous.  And absolute mental focus is a MUST both before the game and during it, the entire four quarters, whether you're in the game or not (Portis).

2)  Tackle. Everyone has commented on Kareem Moore's missed tackles from Sunday.  But he's not the only one.   Part of the problem is that every player has his eye on the marquee instead of on his assignment.  Both our defense and our offense need to get their opponents on the ground and out of the mix.

Hopefully, the Skins were watching MNF.  The Bears' D-line showed everybody how you wrap a guy up.  And the Packers were a negative example on how to avoid penalties.

3)  Run. More controversy among the players is the last thing this team needs right now.  Off-season deals have proven that we don't have a better option than Portis.  Make him the definitive starter and get that chip off his back.  His teammates have confidence him.  The coach (DC code for owner) needs to share it.  Torain looks like a good backup, but don't make the mistake of trying to train up a new guy in the middle of the season, again!  Speaking of which…

4)  …get consistent. Haynesworth or Kemoeatu?  Portis or Torain?  Landry, Doughty, and / or Moore?  Pick a roster and develop it.  When Portis sits on the sidelines with his baseball cap on and his knees crossed, when Portis later says that he did what they told him to do, that doesn't sound like the Portis we know and love, the Portis who does what needs to be done without being asked, as many times as it takes.

Yeah, Stephon Heyer makes false starts.  So did Chris Samuels—he was good for at least 5 yards per game.  But if Heyer were playing regularly, I don't think we'd see those types of errors.  He's a good player who can be consistent when he's given the chance.

Speaking of Heyer, let's talk about injuries.  They happen: witness the Rams, who lost four key players, including their running back, Steven Jackson and their two safeties.  But like the Rams, we need contingency game plans, we need backups to FOCUS (see #1), and we to pay more attention to training and conditioning throughout the week.

5)  Develop the Red Zone. The Redskins scored one touchdown in the entire game, from 21 yards out (thanks Moss!).  We were in the red zone three times and were not able to convert that position once.  Sound familiar?  Like in the home opener last year against the Rams when we were only able to score three field goals and Campbell was forced to take a knee on the five yard line in the fourth quarter rather than risk turning over the ball.