As a result, I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat hopeful when the first half ended with the Packers leading by the score of 14-7. The two first quarter interceptions by the Packers had not led to any points, but they at least slowed the Saints down. In hindsight, those interceptions kept the Packers in the game, keeping the Saints from scoring (those two drives were probably worth 10 or 14 points to the Saints if the interceptions had not happened). But the failure to take advantage of at least one of those turnovers (or the turnover that almost happened on the muffed punt by Ted Ginn) ultimately contributed to the eventual loss, by the score of 26-17.
On first watching of the game live, my impression was that Mike McCarthy went into his now-familiar conservative game-calling mode in the second half. Taking no chances, just making the most conservative choices and hoping for the best against the high-powered Saints. Re-watching the game leads to the same conclusion. In the first half, the Packers' offense ran a lot of play-action passes, fake end-arounds, etc., and the creativity of the calls led to greater success in the running game, with Aaron Jones scoring one of the TDs on a 46 yard run, and Brett Hundley scoring on the other when he decisively pulled down the ball and used his legs to score the TD.
But watching the second half again confirmed my initial impressions. Virtually every play was a straight hand-off, a straight drop-back pass, or a shotgun snap for a pass. I don't recall any play-action passes at all, much less other plays designed to deceive. The results were predictable. The Packers, having scored 14 in the first half, scored 3 in the second half. The defense did not generate any turnovers to slow down the Saints, and as a result they scored 19. Why didn't Mike McCarthy see this coming? Why didn't he adjust his game plan as the second half wore on?
McCarthy, in his characteristically testy way, even acknowledged that he did not do a good job of coaching against the Saints. While he got into no details, it was certainly clear to me as an observer that part of that poor coaching job was his play calling in the second half. When you lead 14-7 at halftime, you can't just run out the clock on the entire second half, especially against a team with an offense like the New Orleans Saints. And yet, if you didn't know the score or the amount of time left, you would assume that the Packers were trying to do just that: run out the clock in the second half.
When the Lions come to Green Bay on Monday night, in theory there is a lot on the line. The Vikings are at 6-2 and on their bye week. They may be close to having all 3 of their QBs available, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater. If the Packers hope to stay in the playoff mix at 4-3, a win here would be a big step forward, showing that they can win at least some games with Brett Hundley. And for the 3-4 Lions, this game is pretty critical. Absent the injury to Rodgers, one would have expected the Packers to win this game. Playing against Brett Hundley gives the Lions the chance to steal a game that they would have assumed to be a loss just three weeks ago.
In the Saints game, the Packers teased us in the first half, but ultimately disappointed us and did not play up to the level of our hopes as fans. I am going to go out on a limb and predict a Packers win on Monday night. This will require McCarthy to call a better game, Hundley to play a better game with few to no mistakes, and the rest of the team to play up to their considerable abilities.
Hundley's abilities are what they are. It is clear that he does not have Rodgers' accuracy on long passes. It is clear that, although mobile, he does not have Rodgers' accuracy while on the run. The best strategy for him seems to be to rely on shorter throws, and to emphasize that if his first couple of options are not open, he should quickly decide to pull the ball down and take off. But a short passing game, with little threat of the long ball, will only work if the play-calling is creative enough to include the element of deception. Play-action passes, screen passes, end-arounds, fake end-arounds, etc. This is squarely on McCarthy to call a better game.
Maybe he needs to designate somebody to stand next to him, and to remind him to call a more creative game. I have someone in mind: how about Aaron Rodgers? He is back in Green Bay, and has nothing better to do during the game. I hope he can elevate McCarthy's game calling. Let's see what happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment