Packers @ Falcons 9/17/2023 Noon Start

[BrewerFan]

14 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Quay is playing like Campbell was a couple years ago - knifing in and making plays.  Always around the ball and often making the tackles.  Campbell is playing like Quay did early last year - getting stuck on blocks and washed out of plays.  

I know C had some injury issues early last year, but I've not heard anything about it this year.  Perhaps they swapped roles in the defense since Q is the play caller now, but I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with C getting stuck on blocks constantly. 

Yeah, I don't think there's a big difference in their responsibilities. I don't think they have a strong side or a weak. It's definitely not like a 3-4.  I think they're pretty interchangeable, but I may be wrong. It does feel like when that're playing that cover 2 and they want their MLBers to get those deep drops, Walker is the guy doing it and Campbell is on the back or playing underneath more. That's as much as I can tell, but I don't know. Maybe they do have a strong side backer and Campbell is getting caught in the wash more because he doesn't have as much freedom.

 

I also don't think that Campbell is playing as poorly as Quay did last year(I don't actually know how poorly he's playing as to my eyes, he's struggling, but PFF still gives him pretty good grades the last two years). The gap in athletic ability between the two may make the gap look bigger than it is. In any event, Quay looks incredible and Campbell is not playing on the level he did 2 years ago.

I didn't publicly complain about the selection of Walker at 22, but I've never been a fan of using a pick that high on a MLBer because so few are special and you can generally get good production if you have a great line in front of them, but the depth he's getting on his drops, the sideline to sideline plays, the violence at the point, he's taking one of the biggest Year 2 jumps I've seen in a while from a Packer. 

I'd long held the belief that if you have a great DL, you'll have really good MLBers. Philly has shown this as TJ Edwards, a 4.9 40 guy was outstanding for him. But Walker has been a great pick and makes the Adams trade look that much better now. 

 

In fact, looking forward, there's a LBer at UGA who looks like a 3/4 rd pick in Smael Mondon Jr. He took over for Walker. He's 6'3 220. He's not as physical though he's faster and can fill out. But he plays with an edge, he plays the slot, he may be even more fluid. It's way off topic, but Re the draft; I'd still say addressing the OL(Bakh, maybe Myers, even RG, even JRJ who's a FA) and a DL if there's one available early, especially before it becomes a significant need(so you have Clark for 1 more year, someone to take someone who can take the load off there and then replace him).

But I'm a convert. Now that I've seen what freak athlete like Walker can do, I'd love to add another athlete who again, can develop a year under Campbell. The size and speed of the defense is so clear. And we're still playing Gary about 1/3rd the snaps and we're without a 1st rd pick in Eric Stokes who's shown he can be a really good boundry CB. Plus, we're weighed down with Barry and I believe Valentine is one of the 5 best DBs and as such, he should be on the field.

[BrewerFan]

41 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

And that last paragraph was really unnecessary and condescending IMO; I should be free to point out my concerns with our rush defense and debate their performance with you without sarcastic and passive aggressive questions about which team I cheer for, and I'm not going to respond to that paragraph beyond that. 

Oh c'mon. What part of that was condescending?

The feigned outrage here is...wild. These are the two comments;

What the last paragraph was addressing;

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

It's not about being a fan of any particular team?

What I actually said;

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

And I don't know if the first sentence was a question, but how is it not about being a fan of a team? Do you follow the Falcons all year? Anyway...you can both sides this all you want. I'm gonna look at it from the Packers vantage point.

This is what you're outraged about? That was "unnecessarily condescending" PLUS passive aggressive and also sarcastic?

First of all, you seemed to be asking a question. One that I didn't understand as it's OBVIOUSLY about being a fan of a particular team. The site we're on isn't "Baseballfanatics," it's Brewersfanatics."  Is this site collectively more concerned with the development of Desmond Ridder or Jordan Love? So no, it wasn't condescending, passive aggressive and sarcastic. I guess you could say I was "befuddled." Which frankly seems more "passive aggressive, unnecessarily condescending and sarcastic," then me asking how a forum about the PACKERS in a thread that's literally...labeled PACKERS Game thread isn't about any one team?

It was a rhetorical question to make a point. Yours...I'm still not sure if you're asking a question or what point you're making.

59 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

I'm just befuddled that you can say that we weren't getting gashed well before the 4th quarter when I've presented complete statistical evidence to the contrary. It's not like there was one big run that Bijan sprung for 90 yards that skewed the stats, it was huge chunk plays, 8, 9 yards, frequently throughout Q1 to Q3.

Well, let me explain then. They were playing maybe the best pure rushing team in the NFL(excluding the QB). The best Guard, and two elite run blocking tackles.

Bijan Robinson is a "generational," type talent at back...insofar as that term gets thrown around, but a back that comes around every 5-10 years. And yet the Packers had allowed 12 points and had stopped them when they needed to. 

1st and Goal on the 1, the Packers held them out.
 

So they faced an elite back who did over half his damage rushing on 4 carries and because I watched the game, I can say it was VERY different than years past. It wasn't massive holes, they were moving the Packers off the point, it was just a great running back...and then a QB who really kept them in the game with his feet. The 4th down rushing TD, the several 3rd/4th down runs where Ridder scrambled.

 

You can be befuddled because I have a different view of what happened?

Bottom line, the Packers got stops when they needed to. Particularly in short yardage situations like the sequence in which they Ridder rushes, gets pushed out at the one, they run a play, can't get in, they run 3 more plays, the Packers stop them. 4 players from the 1 yard line vs a team that was "gashing" us all day long and they had to settle for a FG?

You can't just read a box score and come away with a feel for how the game went. As when you pointed out the difference in yards and I mentioned the Vikings outgained us when they got the doors blown off by the Packers? The two big PIs. That's two plays the Packers got single coverage, Love put the ball where it needed to be and very easily could have been 75 and 78 yard TDs. But it doesn't go in the box score.

There's a flow and a feel to the game, and I don't believe the Packers were getting dominated defensively by the Falcons for the reasons I mentioned above, among a litany of other reasons. They faced a team that...in my first post, I pointed out was an elite running team. The most run heavy team in the NFL and they'd given up, again, 12 points and come up with big stops when they needed them. 

So I hope this clears up any befuddlement on your behalf as to why I don't think the defense was just getting gashed by the run UNTIL the Packers went to an ultra conservative approach and ran 6 plays from the last part of the 3Q through the 4Q until they got the ball back down 1. 

 

[adambr2]

I'm not going solely by box score. I  watched the entire game and that wasn't the impression I got at all and I definitely think the stats bear that out. Sure looked to me like we were just getting shredded on the ground. I was texting a friend of mine when it was 24-12 and we were discussing how we both felt we were fortunate the score was what it was because Atlanta had played pretty well, particularly in running the ball and left some points on the board. 

Did some things well defensively in the first three quarters that we can hopefully build on. 

Agree that Bijan is an uber generational talent that will shred a lot of defenses this year. Couldn't figure out why the Falcons were bothering to pass much at all. 

Agree to disagree on most of the rest of it.