Inbox: This game will mean more in the long run

Cheesehead

Well-known member
Mar 19, 2019
2,854
0
wxnm545kn7klr2ggqehi


Brad from Solon Springs, WI


Good morning, Mike. Our boys from the Bay beat themselves...so we have that goin' for us which is nice!


The other guys even tried to beat themselves, too. One of the more bizarre games I can recall.


Paul from De Pere, WI


Serenity now! As a fan, that was the type of game that leaves me questioning the cost/benefit of investing three-plus hours watching football.


Were you not entertained?


Nick from Hopkins, MN


I know you should win in regulation to eliminate chance, but honestly has any player every been as let down by his team in OT as Aaron Rodgers has been during his career? I don't remember his defense ever stopping the opponent and when he has touched the ball, I believe he's had a three-and-out, the Marquez Valdes-Scantling fumble and the uncalled blatant facemask strip-sack against the Cardinals. Honestly he should start lobbying to just never play for OT...


He has just two overtime wins in his career (Cincinnati in '17, N.Y. Jets in '18), which is hard to believe, and the latter one didn't even mean anything. But you're right, a lot of circumstance and bad luck. I thought with the way the Colts' defense was reeling from that two-minute drive, winning the toss meant points at a minimum.


Nic from London, UK


This is a game I expected to lose or be closely contested – away, against a top D/playoff contender. We're still atop the North, still in race for 1 seed and at end of the day, we just need to get to the dance. What I'm most bothered by is just how we lose – unforced errors (ST disproportionately damaging), repeat chain-moving runs by mediocre RBs, lapses in coverage. Like the Seahawks I believe us too flawed to contend (barring injury) but we have six weeks to prove otherwise. Is that unfair?


Not entirely. We may have seen Jonathan Taylor take the first major step forward in his career. But that aside, the Packers have to find a way to turn things around against good teams when struggles begin. Mistakes happen, but they can't compound. Good teams are going to keep you down if you let them (49ers last year, Bucs and Colts this year). Resilience is an important quality, and the Packers have shown it plenty under LaFleur. But in some of the bigger games, they haven't.


Chet from Sioux Falls, SD


Plenty of blame to go around for the loss, feels like if they erased even one or two mistakes it wouldn't have even been close. The type of losses that just hurt to swallow. But there is nothing more infuriating to me than when the Packers treat a third-and-19 like they are defending a Hail Mary. Allowing the Colts to get into a manageable fourth-down attempt from a third-and-19 is just unbelievable. Why do you think they always play these situations like that?


I don't know, but there seems to be an alertness missing on those long-yardage situations. The early third-and-12 was converted with an underneath throw because the main line of defenders was beyond the sticks, so the charge was too late. Third-and-9, one defender has his eyes elsewhere, gets greedy, makes a false move and gives up a step on his man. Third-and-10, check-down gets 9, fourth-and-1 converted. Third-and-19, screen gets 15, fourth-and-4 converted. In the desire to not give up the big play, field awareness is lacking. For all the defense's issues, I wouldn't consider third-and-longs to be a chronic problem, but they were Sunday. I think stuff like that is eminently correctable when it crops up, but the defense keeps having new things crop up. It's getting too late for that.


Tinger from Red Wing, MN


ACTA Absolutely cannot tackle anyone. I do not understand why any team ever passes against our defense. Why bother when you can get 7 or 8 yards every single time? Sure, the offense lost the overtime but the defense could not tackle anyone the entire second half.


Look, I'm not going to say the Packers are a good tackling team, because they aren't. But 21 minutes into the second half, the Colts had run 36 plays and the Packers had run six. The defense was getting gassed and got no help. Two drives also started at the Indy 45 and the Green Bay 28. Allowing only one touchdown, and 17 points total, in those circumstances was not the disaster you make it out to be, in my opinion. Did the defense play a good game? No. Can they rely on their defense to win? No. But if the offense and special teams had given a little help when the defense was struggling, I like the odds on the outcome being different. It's a team game.
 
Top