Fear The Chorizo

One thing that still sticks in my craw about this game was the overturned fumble for San Fran right after Lewis' fumble that would've set the Packers right back up in 49er territory in the 1st quarter. Aiyuk caught the ball, two feet hit the ground (1st foot immediately after he caught the ball, if players can scrape a cleat on the sideline and have that count as a foot being down the instant the ball hits their hands then Aiyuk's 1st foot hitting the ground on the run should DEFINITELY count, too), and he was turning upfield - to me turning upfield is an example of "making a football move" that constitutes making a catch after two feet have already hit the ground. Nowhere in the rulebook does it say the receiver has to get a third foot down in the middle of the field in order for it to be a fumble instead of an incompletion. The ruling on the field was a fumble, and league review of the turnover overturned it despite no indisputable evidence that should have changed that ruling. Had they ruled the play incomplete and GB challenged I think there'd have been better than a 50% chance the call would've gotten changed to a fumble. It's one thing for the league review to overturn questionable fumble calls whether a QB's hand is moving forward or if a RB's knee/elbow hits before the ball comes out - but I feel that reversal really impacted how the rest of the 1st half played out and don't think there was enough for them to rule the play an incomplete pass and overturn the call on the field. Sure, SF wound up with a 3 and out offensively - but GB took over possession deep in their own territory after a punt instead of around the SF40. That play influenced GB's starting field position for the rest of the 1st half once things ground down to a defensive struggle - getting their offense right back on the field in that spot might have led to more points on the board and changed how the game unfolded even if the offense wasn't going to put up 30 points saturday night.

This has come up in the thread before as well so I wanted to pose the question- do we know if this was the actual game plan, or just what QB1 decided to do? It became apparent with Favre that the team & staff was ready to move on because he was doing what he wanted to do vs. what the team wanted him to do, especially in the playoffs. Is this a repeat of that situation? It sure looked like Rodgers fell into his rare but historically present bad habit of only throwing to a couple of guys he 'trusts'. I think there's at least a modest possibility that the game plan and what Rodgers chose to do didn't completely line up. I'm of the opinion that much of this is where Rodgers chose to go with the football, particularly once there were a couple drops by others and after the pass rush got home a few times. That being said, I don't get why you can't have some different play design to try and get something downfield open opposite the coverage drawn to Adams. Not having MVS hurt, and it was made even more painful because the line wasn't pass protecting well - both Lazard and Deguara were often lined up right off the tackles to help chip before even entering their routes, so there was really no other outside receiver who could stretch the field getting free releases off the line of scrimmage. San Fran's defense played pretty straight up in coverage everywhere but with Adams - they schemed and disguised whether a safety was providing help over the top or a LB/safety was helping out underneath, and they never had to shift their approach because it seemed like Rodgers/MLF spent most of the game trying to solve that riddle instead of looking at the rest of the field to move the ball. Lazard and Deguara should've played a much bigger factor.

They had 3 weeks to rest and prepare for this game and they could not have come out looking flatter and less prepared in 2 out of 3 phases of the game. Kind of disagree they came out looking flat offensively - it was the only touchdown they scored all game. Unprepared in how they failed to adjust their offensive gameplan once San Francisco took some things away, sure. They scored on their opening drive and were driving for more points when Lewis fumbled - after that, offensively they turtled a bit and failed to adjust at all when the 49ers took away alot of the underneath stuff and shaded coverage heavily to Adams. Some of that is on MLF, but as people have pointed out on some specific plays a chunk of this is on Rodgers as the game wore on. He didn't play well. The line didn't protect well, but wasn't the sole reason for numerous low/inaccurate throws and the fact the ball was constantly going to Adams and Jones down the stretch even with the 49ers doubling Adams. Rodgers looked like the 2019 version on Saturday night - the one that many people wondered if he was done being great and the career decline had started picking up steam, which more than justified drafting a quarterback in round 1 the following draft. As for special teams, I just get more angry every time I think of how inept they truly were all season long and how nothing was done in earnest to correct the systemic problems aside from putting starters into the special teams coverage units to make up for bad play....and of course Dillon gets hurt on special teams and can't factor in the running game on a slick field when they need him the most offensively.

Lol

Probably so, but 80-90 percent of the people who don't cling to everything being spewed on Twitter could care less about what is being put out online right now. For me being willing to move on has 100 percent what's happened on the field in the playoffs - particularly in cold weather games. I thought Favre really showed his age in that nfccg against the giants. Could he still play and play really well? Sure, but it sure seemed like the cold impacted him much more as he aged. To me, Rodgers looked very diminished last night in the elements. He was inaccurate and didn't seem to go through progressions or even attempt to spread the ball around after he got hit a few times, and just was much more impacted by the pass rush than I've seen in a while, probably since 2019, perhaps since the game at Tampa in 2020. Weather impacted everyone to some degree, but I think it just is more pronounced on older players.

Yes, but when you're consistently regarded as the best quarterback in the league, that's what you have to do in order to win playoff games because the roster you lead will always have limitations elsewhere to compensate for the amount of salary cap space your contract eats up. Rodgers didn't play awful and lose them the game singlehandedly by any stretch, but he didn't play well enough by his own standards to be the difference-maker this team needs against a good opponent in a playoff game. He played like 2019 Rodgers last night, to be honest.

That has shades of that Giant NFCCG where the pick Favre threw by throwing towards Driver showed basically every other receiver wide open for a huge play had he gone elsewhere.

After last night I think there's a decent chance Rodgers retires, at least temporarily, and takes a year away from football to see if he wants to continue playing elsewhere. I'm not sure how that would potentially impact any ability for GB to get anything for him in return since they only have him under contract for one more season - would that last year just get torn up and if he opts to return would he be a total free agent, or would he have to come back within the terms of that contract's last year and still be under team control if the Packers don't grant him his release? Pretty sure he's got a wedding coming up and after all the drama surrounding him over the last calendar year (most of it self-inflicted) it wouldn't surprise me to see him take a hiatus...but not a permanent one.

In no particular order of best fit, the teams I can see seriously wanting Rodgers, having draft/player capital to deal for him, and be a spot Rodgers would be happy going to and GB would be fine sending to include (IMO): Seattle Tampa Bay (TB12 retirement pending) New Orleans Philly Giants (NY is a draw for a personality no matter what) Vegas Denver Pittsburgh Miami If a trade does materialize, there will be enough suitors to drive up the pricetag even if Rodgers limits options on where he wants to go play. Also this list is with a big caveat that 2022 salary cap issues face several of these teams and would probably prohibit them making a run at a QB that would instantly take up at least 20% of their cap budget.

The earliest the Packer’s could trade Rogers is March 16, 2022 Which is 6-7 weeks before the draft, so yes - early in the offseason....the new league year intentionally doesn't start for a month after the Super Bowl so front offices can sort out personnel decisions inside their building that have cap implications and all teams can get coaches/GM hires made. That doesn't mean we won't know whether Rodgers is going to be traded or not well before mid-march, it just means the actual transaction can't happen until then.

Yep...even a slot receiver that can win a 1-on-1 consistently and move the chains. They were having to move Adams inside just to try much of the year just to try and keep defensive coverages guessing. Cobb was an option at times with the right matchups before he got hurt, but he's a shell of what he was. And Deguara just hasn't been a consistent pass catching TE, unfortunately.

What killed Favre's trade value is the fact GB flat out said Rodgers was the starter heading into the season after Favre retired and stuck to it after he announced his return - everyone knew there was no way Favre was still going to be on GB's roster that season, and frankly the teams that may have offered more in a trade were all in the Packers' division so there was no way that was happening. The way the trade was structured with the Jets, I believe it had more poison pills in it had they turned around and dealt him to the Vikings that the Jets would owe GB 3 1st round picks. Plus any team interested in Favre knew he had 1, maybe 2 decent seasons left in him and they just watched him play poorly against the Giants in the NFCCG. With this offseason, if Rodgers does indeed want out (or if GB management is very open to entertaining trade options), there isn't going to be as much certainty that Rodgers won't be allowed back in the building should a trade not happen and training camp rolls around - and Rodgers probably could play at a high level for 3-5 more seasons if he really wanted to. I'm not saying it's going to go down the same way Favre ended, a trade will happen early in the offseason before the draft if that's how this shakes out...and there will be plenty of suitors that should improve a trade package to deal him.

Zero chance he is traded within the division. Below zero, if that is even possible. I hope you are right that they get a big package back for him. I fear they won't, though. Tonight's performance certainly didn't raise his trade value. It more than likely hurt it. When it gets announced he wins league MVP, teams that don't play outdoor playoff games in the snow in their home stadium probably won't care too much about his performance tonight if Rodgers does wind up on the trade block.

Rodgers was ready to move on after last season when we were one play away from the Super Bowl and had to be begged to return. Fast forward one year to this horrific debacle and he'll want to spend the rest of his career here? Absolutely not. He is done as a Packer. Plus the front office basically bent over backwards for his every whim this season, and he repaid them with a Divisional exit and a bunch of totally unneeded drama along the way. The divorce is going to likely be amicable, but there are plenty of reasons on both sides, That's mostly my point - after all the drama during the offseason and regular season and with how this fizzled so abruptly, it wouldn't surprise me for Rodgers to state he wants to remain in Green Bay the rest of his career but also say to Gute he needs to be paid like a back to back MVP should demanding one last mega contract. Something that Gute and the front office may have been entertaining had this year culminated with a title because the only way Rodgers could stay longterm would be signing a new deal that was structured in a way to significantly reduce the huge cap hit his current contract has for 2022....but after tonight, I can see the front office hoping Rodgers does indeed want to end things in Green Bay and gladly entertain trade offers and turn the page with a significant rebuild moving forward.

Rodgers didn't cost them the game tonight...but IMO he didn't do nearly enough to win it, either. There have been several gut wrenching playoff losses where you could say the exact same thing now.

That may be the case, but now it may be that Gute and company don't really care what Rodgers wants to do even if he does want to end his career here and just move on no matter what. I dunno, tough pill to swallow right now.

Defense held san fran to 212 total yards, 106 rushing on 29 carries...if anyone said that would be the case in this game yesterday we would all assume GB won by 20+

Yep, and the reason he's out there at all is because other personnel weren't getting the job done earlier in the year. Not having the hammer in the second half didn't allow the offense to stay run heavy when the field started getting slick, because you can't just feed Jones constantly.

That 3rd and 7 run for a 1st was painful, especially seeing Jaire not make a play to force a fg attempt 10 yds longer there. Not entirely sure why he's in coverage in that spot instead of a DB with a better shot at making a solid tackle there, but Savage was out so it may have just set up that way.

Conditions tonight weren't going to lead to a track meet - special team disasters were a 10 point swing in this game, which was more than enough when the offense turtles for mostly 3.5 quarters after that great start. They had one solid drive that fizzled in the red zone because there was no faith in receivers not named Adams to make a play and the line couldn't pass protect long enough to let other routes potentially develop.

Rodgers struggled tonight, but so did the entire offense once the field got slick and Dillon got injured. Tough to say no other receivers were getting open because Rodgers was only looking at 17 and 33 - and the oline was on skates. Rodgers wasn't accurate on some key throws, and they promptly went 3 and out with the ball at winning time. Same thing happened against TB 2 straight drives last January. You can't always place blame elsewhere when you're supposed to be THE MAN and you don't deliver when given a realistic chance to do so when it matters most.

Amen...and not even take questions. Just say he is fired and walk away from the podium The damage is already done now. He had every reason to do it mid-season and stuck by his man. He is as much responsible for this as Drayton is. Agreed, but own it and say you screwed up by letting that putrid unit ruin this team's chances.

Lots of blame to go around, but at the end of the day a 6-7 man punt rush set up to have a return blocked a punt in the 4th quarter inside the 15 because their special teams isn't coordinated worth a damn.

Amen...and not even take questions. Just say he is fired and walk away from the podium

Alexander had the tackle in the hole, and promptly bounced right off him