Game 2: Colts @ Packers - Sunday, Sept 15th at 12PM

[HarryDoyle]

I think Willis would love to win being a key factor next week.

[OldHeidelberg]

Gary wasn’t in much in second half, maybe just the heat but I wonder if he was injured. Much needed win, Willis played well hopefully they open up the playbook for him next week.

[wOOgiE22]

I just got back from the game and that had to be the hottest game I have been too. I’m just hoping they were rotating Gary because of the heat. 

[HarryDoyle]

5 minutes ago, wOOgiE22 said:

I just got back from the game and that had to be the hottest game I have been too. I’m just hoping they were rotating Gary because of the heat. 

I heard on Nagler's postgame gut reactions that MLF was asked why Willis didn't throw on a certain third down play and he said that was the call, but Myers vomited on the ball.

[BrewerFan]

57 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Malik wasn't asked to do much today, but what he was asked to do, he did well. 

That said, I think you need to open up the playbook for him a little bit the next couple weeks. Happy with the win, we're just trying to gut out as many as we can with Jordan on the shelf, but I don't think you win too many games in this league the way we did today. 

No...but you don't have to. Love could be back next week...if not, I'd bet it'd be the week after. I'd probably hold him out one more week, even if he's 50/50 as I don't wanna see our IOL going against Simmons and company, but already one more win than some predicted.

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

What a dumb decision by Tampa to pass.

I don't mind the boot, IF your QB is going to eat it if he's under pressure or doesn't have a wide-open WR. 

Either easy completion of...make them use the last TO.

Luckily...it didn't matter. 

[Zad Fnark]

We were sitting in section 740S.  I'm assuming the "S" stands for "Stratosphere".  That new section on the one end zone which goes up high.  We were 5 rows from the tippy top.  It felt higher than the 400 section at AmFam.  We were probably the only section in the stadium in the shade, which was nice.

[yourout]

3 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

I heard on Nagler's postgame gut reactions that MLF was asked why Willis didn't throw on a certain third down play and he said that was the call, but Myers vomited on the ball.

Wow....like right out of "Replacements".

 

[CheezWizHed]

Great games from Jacobs, the OL, Daub, and Reed on offense.

Malik did a nice job playing within himself and the gameplan.  We do need a few more pass plays setup for him though.  Indy's second half adjustments slowed us down a little bit too much.  A few more outs to the TEs or Watson going a deep route just to diversify the game plan. 

The defense was generally excellent also.  I'm actually surprised that Indy didn't feature Jonathan Taylor more.  He was the player we struggled to stop over anyone.  But the D did a great job containing Richardson. 

[adambr2]

Also, on Narveson. Both games I found myself being excited for our kicking game again, only to be deflated with the "here we go again" feeling on the miss. 

It *feels* like he's better than Anders, and the eye test to me makes it seem like he's better than Anders. So I think some patience is warranted. 

That said, kicking is a cutthroat business in the NFL, where your average kickers might miss 5 field goals in an entire season. 

So I'm good for now, but another miss next week and you're going to see that leash really start to get shorter. 

 

[BrewerFan]

9 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Great games from Jacobs, the OL, Daub, and Reed on offense.

Malik did a nice job playing within himself and the gameplan.  We do need a few more pass plays setup for him though.  Indy's second half adjustments slowed us down a little bit too much.  A few more outs to the TEs or Watson going a deep route just to diversify the game plan. 

The defense was generally excellent also.  I'm actually surprised that Indy didn't feature Jonathan Taylor more.  He was the player we struggled to stop over anyone.  But the D did a great job containing Richardson. 

I'm looking forward to playing a less mobile QB. That's two weeks in a row Hafley has prioritized rushing lands and kinda holding onto the reigns of the DL. I get that...but let Quay or Coopr spy and let the DL loose. 

Not sure he explicitly stated it for the Colts, but he did for the Eagles. And that makes sense, even moreso vs the Colts with Richardson's size and speed, But I still think this pass rush is going to be really good when they're allowed to just get up-field. 

 

Also, doesn't appear Colby Wooden is going to play as large of a role in the defense this yea with this front.

And finally, looking forward to Cooper and Morgan to step into the lineup full-time. Cooper can just do things that the others can't.  Quay looks really good vs the pass though. Twice in two games, he's getting 20 yard drops and taking away the deep middle and helping to create turnovers. 

[CheezWizHed]

32 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I'm looking forward to playing a less mobile QB. That's two weeks in a row Hafley has prioritized rushing lands and kinda holding onto the reigns of the DL. I get that...but let Quay or Coopr spy and let the DL loose. 

Not sure he explicitly stated it for the Colts, but he did for the Eagles. And that makes sense, even moreso vs the Colts with Richardson's size and speed, But I still think this pass rush is going to be really good when they're allowed to just get up-field. 

 

Also, doesn't appear Colby Wooden is going to play as large of a role in the defense this yea with this front.

And finally, looking forward to Cooper and Morgan to step into the lineup full-time. Cooper can just do things that the others can't.  Quay looks really good vs the pass though. Twice in two games, he's getting 20 yard drops and taking away the deep middle and helping to create turnovers. 

Yeah, I forgot to mention a lack of Cooper out there playing this week.  That was disappointing.  Despite the gripes, Walker is actually pretty good player.  He misses plays at times (i.e. INT glancing off his helmet), but part of that is being in the right place to almost make the play.  We haven't had an MLB be able to do that for a while.  And Wilson made a great INT... but adding Cooper's speed would've looked great yesterday.

Thus the D still has room to improve. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

absent the fumble by Jacobs going in to score a TD and a missed FG, yesterday was a great game for the Packers that could have easily been a curb-stomping compared to a game that hung in the balance to the last hail mary play.  Asking for more out of Willis or a better overall gameplan (both offensively and defensively) is just getting greedy week 2 with a backup quarterback getting the home opener start.

GB dominated the trenches a week after it felt like they were getting pushed around a bit too much - great bounceback team W.

 

[bjkrautk]

The one thought I had going into the game, and still have is that Tucker Kraft seems to either have surpassed Luke Musgrave as the top tight end, or is close to doing so.  Not only does he seem to be more productive in the offense (4 receptions to 1 for LM), but when only one of them is out on the field, it seemed to be Kraft more often than not.  APC snap counts from yesterday seem to back that up.  

 

I don't think I've seen a team running counters off their reverse game quite like the Packers did in the first quarter yesterday.  At least 2-3 times on the early drives the team would fake an end-around to the left, only to pull the guards and run to the right side with an inside handoff.  The Colts were clearly geared to stop the actual reverses, but doing so left them open to the counter.  Just good strategy on MLF's part.  Likewise, I think the offense did a good job building in high-percentage, short passes for Willis to get his confidence going early...but a lot of that comes back to having "convert first-and-20" -type success with the running game.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

Yeah, I forgot to mention a lack of Cooper out there playing this week.  That was disappointing.  Despite the gripes, Walker is actually pretty good player.  He misses plays at times (i.e. INT glancing off his helmet), but part of that is being in the right place to almost make the play.  We haven't had an MLB be able to do that for a while.  And Wilson made a great INT... but adding Cooper's speed would've looked great yesterday.

Thus the D still has room to improve. 

They have a ton of room to improve. 

I still think they're playing Vanilla, boring defenses because they've played elite backs and running QBs and they are limited at LB.

Eric Wilson was a really good LB for Minnesota for a year or two. Then he fell off a cliff and more like a ST ace and good backup for us, but I'm looking forward to going back and seeing what he did overall.

I'm also not arguing about Quay. I am with you, he makes plays. The play where our DT got blown up(I think it was Brooks, not sure) and Quay comes to fill and Barkley gives him that jab step and everyone replays that all week as some indictment against Quay...Barkley really is Barry-Sanders-esque(when healthy) and 235. That's a play you want quay to make...but very good LBers make that play. That hole was 5 yards wide. 

I think Hafley will utilize him better as the year goes on, but when he's playing the middle in pass coverage, he is REALLY good. Also good at pursuit. 

And they rallied to the Football so well yesterday. I knew they would. That was something they didn't do vs Philly and...that's one of the area's the same is easy. Effort. 

Cooper won't have a Quay type impact, but remember his rookie year? Didn't play much early, then 4 weeks in, kinda took over? I suspect that'll happen here as well. 

[BrewerFan]

1 minute ago, bjkrautk said:

The one thought I had going into the game, and still have is that Tucker Kraft seems to either have surpassed Luke Musgrave as the top tight end, or is close to doing so.  Not only does he seem to be more productive in the offense (4 receptions to 1 for LM), but when only one of them is out on the field, it seemed to be Kraft more often than not.  APC snap counts from yesterday seem to back that up.  

 

I don't think I've seen a team running counters off their reverse game quite like the Packers did in the first quarter yesterday.  At least 2-3 times on the early drives the team would fake an end-around to the left, only to pull the guards and run to the right side with an inside handoff.  The Colts were clearly geared to stop the actual reverses, but doing so left them open to the counter.  Just good strategy on MLF's part.  Likewise, I think the offense did a good job building in high-percentage, short passes for Willis to get his confidence going early...but a lot of that comes back to having "convert first-and-20" -type success with the running game.

YES!!! The one thing I really wanted to talk about, but you nailed it. They ran SO much more power running. Doubling, Kraft was used in a H-back role a bit, but they doubled at the point, they got pulled out in front, some misdirection. They changed the run blocking a bit so that it suited Jacobs(I think, maybe it was just a few plays, have to re-watch). 

But it was a great scheme. And I'll bet they've got some different looks off of that they'll incorporate. That was a masterclass by MLF

 

As for Musgrave-Kraft, yeah, that's strange. Kraft is a stud, but Musgrave is so good, I want to see him out there more. You'd think Musgrave was the one with the serious injury, then banged up in Camp. 

I still think Musgrave is a potentially elite QB. 

 

 

56 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Asking for more out of Willis or a better overall gameplan (both offensively and defensively) is just getting greedy week 2 with a backup quarterback getting the home opener start.

Definitely. He was making some nice throws. I'm excited to see if they can develop him and then turn him into a 3rd Rd pick in a year or two. 

The physical tools are unquestionable. 

 

If he plays next week, I expect a couple PA shots downfield. That's his strength, the deep ball. Doesn't even have to hit on them, but it'll open things up(Jeffery Simmons may close them down though). 

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

I still think Musgrave is a potentially elite QB. 

Wow! We have him totally out of position at TE then! 😉😂

[BrewerFan]

3 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Wow! We have him totally out of position at TE then! 😉😂

I gotta stop trying to multi-task...start writing and then....

Sorry, what are we talking about now?

[CheezWizHed]

8 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I gotta stop trying to multi-task...start writing and then....

Sorry, what are we talking about now?

Squirrels I believe...

[Joseph Zarr]

6 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Also, on Narveson. Both games I found myself being excited for our kicking game again, only to be deflated with the "here we go again" feeling on the miss. 

It *feels* like he's better than Anders, and the eye test to me makes it seem like he's better than Anders. So I think some patience is warranted. 

That said, kicking is a cutthroat business in the NFL, where your average kickers might miss 5 field goals in an entire season. 

So I'm good for now, but another miss next week and you're going to see that leash really start to get shorter. 

 

Oh man, I feel you on this. Samez.

Then, I can't shake the neurosis I feel when I self talk post-game:

"Your kicker you fell in love with for zero reasons other than previous Packer kicker traumas, is making 75% of his kicks and hasn't even attempted anything over 46 yards."

"But he's 100% on XP's! AND it just looks and feels better!"

Good grief!

😅

[Joseph Zarr]

I have seen zero anything from Musgrave since being a Packer to tell me he isn't just an over-hyped Jeff Janis level player playing TE. I want Musgrave to be SO good but all I end up feeling when I watch him play is sad we weren't able to draft Dalton Kincaid instead. I just haven't seen it. I see a tall fast guy who has no elusiveness, little route nuance, no breaking tackles ability, pedestrian blocker, and questionable hands. It makes me sad.

[Joseph Zarr]

And, my goodness, if I see Quay Walker willingly engage an O-Lineman instead of a freely running RB for zero reason again I may snap. Attack the ball carrier, man. What are we doing?!? I keep coming away from cumulative Walker footage thinking they may just simply be stuck with a rich man's Torrance Marshall.

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Back to Musgrave, I counter with what the Packers very clearly have with TE Tucker Kraft which is a complete stud:

He is the full package.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, Joseph Zarr said:

I have seen zero anything from Musgrave since being a Packer to tell me he isn't just an over-hyped Jeff Janis level player playing TE. I want Musgrave to be SO good but all I end up feeling when I watch him play is sad we weren't able to draft Dalton Kincaid instead. I just haven't seen it. I see a tall fast guy who has no elusiveness, little route nuance, no breaking tackles ability, pedestrian blocker, and questionable hands. It makes me sad.

I'm sorry...WHAT now? Questionable hands? He might have the most reliable hands on the team.

I don't know how to reconcile any of this with what I've seen. He's not super physical TE obviously, but he's one of the most fluid athletes you'll see at TE,

We got two really good TEs in that class and Kraft has been a better blocker, but Musgrave was as productive as Kraft. Kraft's been a better blocker, but Musgrave isn't a terrible blocker.

Jeff Janis? I might go back and watch a little bit of him from last year again.

 

Quote

And, my goodness, if I see Quay Walker willingly engage an O-Lineman instead of a freely running RB for zero reason again I may snap. Attack the ball carrier, man. What are we doing?!?

You're gonna need a VERY different play. That's 100% on Kenny Clark there. Part of the give and take with a one gap vs two gap, but stop the play a 2 seconds. Where would you like him to attack? He's got Johnathan Taylor, a Pro-Bowl Center who's now on the 2nd level as Clark completely taking himself out of the play. Which way should he go? It's easy once you get to the 3rd second(after he makes contact)...you're asking him to make a play...I don't think any LB in the NFL makes there. Not just Taylor one-on-one...you have Ryan Kelly out in front and Taylor is using him to cut off of.

He could commit inside...that breaks pretty much every rule, but you see that Williams in coming in later. He could jump outside and...there's still nobody over the middle.

 

That's what a good RB is going to do. They're going to run with patience and use that blocker to cut off of.

 

Quay has made a couple of monster plays, but I keep seeing this one and then Barkley in the hole and I think the expectations in this situations are wildly unrealistic. I don't think Fred Warner is making that play there, I don't think Urlacher is(I know he isn't actually)...

If you've got a LBer who's gambling and shooting the A-gaps there, sure, but then you're going to get killed in the passing game. But actually watch how that play unfolds and tell me what Walker is supposed to do?

 

That definitely breaks down when KC jumps inside and takes himself out of the play. You'll have that with one gap though. 

 

And it's less a defense for Quay(though...I think he's getting WAY too much heat and he's been outstanding vs the pass this year) and more about what an impossible play that is and how easy that is for the RB. 

 

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Back to Musgrave, I counter with what the Packers very clearly have with TE Tucker Kraft which is a complete stud:

He is the full package.

Kraft is definitely the more physical, bruiser and can serve as a physical H-back type...

 

BUT...go back and watch #88 in those. He's not Kraft, but...he's getting the job done. He's the key block to spring Jacobs and is holding his own at the point vs guys like Kwity Payne. 

 

Love Kraft, I'm gonna love all these guys more when we get Love back and he can just...spread the love. Get this OL running the ball like this and hell, the Love injury...well, it won't be a good thing, but we may end up better for it.