Green Bay Packers 31, San Diego Chargers 24
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by Cheezer
Cheese Spread Offense. That’s the big news out of Lambeau Field this week. Head Coach Mike McCarthy had the Green Bay Packers in shotgun formation on 2/3 of their offensive snaps against the San Diego Chargers. The formation was used regardless of down and distance in all different game situations. In fact, on a failed 4 th and goal conversion from inside the one, the Packers had lined up in shotgun with an empty backfield. All in all, the game plan worked as Green Bay used a 4th quarter comeback to emerge victorious 31-24.
There seems to be two main reasons for the Packers to use the spread offense so much. In the San Diego game, it served to negate the speed advantage of the Chargers defense. Chargers juicer Shawne Merriman was a non-factor. Also, with a poor to mediocre running game, the spread offense allows quarterback Brett Favre, the Packers best offensive player, to attack the defense in many ways. Green Bay used three different running backs and had 8 different players with receptions.
Against the Chargers, Green Bay spread the defense vertically as well as horizontally. They didn’t connect on the deep throws, but several long passes in the early part of the game opened up the underneath routes.
Observations
- Green Bay passed the ball 78% of the time (45/58)
- Greg Jennings, Packers Wide Receiver looks to be back to full speed. He easily outran the Chargers secondary on a 4 th quarter 57 yard catch-and-run TD.
- Late preseason pick-up Ryan Grant saw several snaps in the early part of the game. His abilities remain to be seen. The people in the organization, including Packers Running Backs Coach, Edgar Bennett, say that he reminds them of former Packer Dorsey Levens. And not just because they share the same number.
- The Packers offensive line looked much better than they did against the Giants. Zero turnovers and only two sacks is a testament to their performance.
- Favre went 28/45 for 369 yards, 3 TDs, 0 Ints (Rating: 110.3)
- Donald Driver, Packers WR, had 6 catches for 126 yards and a TD. He is now the alltime reception leader for Lambeau Field.
- Bubba Franks, Packer Tight End, had an early drop on a crucial third down but made amends with his 2 nd TD of the season. Franks and fellow TE, Donald Lee, are rapidly gaining Favre’s confidence as he is not afraid to look to them as the plays are breaking down.
- Nick Barnett, is making his case as the Packers best player. He had a game icing interception as the Chargers were trying to mount a comeback with under two minutes to go in the game. His aggressiveness disrupts play all over the field.
- AJ Hawk led the team in tackles. He definitely talented, but he has a lot of room for improvement. In his quest to make the big play, he abandoned his responsibilities in backside support. Chargers RB, LaDanian Tomlinson, made him pay.
- The Packers held Tomlinson to 62 yards rushing but it came at a price as Phillip Rivers passed for 306 yds and 3 TDs.
- Packer Nickelback, Jarrett Bush was badly exposed. I'm sure future opponents will seek to take advantage of him in the passing game.
- Green Bay mainly used four down linemen to generate pressure with Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila getting two sacks.
- Special teams has become a strength for the Packers. Rookie kicker Mason Crosby was perfect on all of his kicks with 4 PATs and a 28-yd FG. Of six kickoffs, 5 went into the endzone with 3 for touchback. Punter John Ryan had a huge punt of 54 yards that went out of bounds to pin the Chargers at the end of the first half.
- Farve Watch
- With 3 TD passes, Favre has now tied Dan Marino with 420 career Touchdown passes.
Once again, McCarthy showed the ability to learn from his mistakes. After foolishly going empty backfield on 4th and inches from the goal-line, he changed his approach. The next time the Packers got close, he threw out the empty backfield, shotgun, spread offense look and put Favre under center. Two runs later. . . 6 points.
Also note that this team seems to be mentally tougher than the past couple of seasons. After being basically shut out for two straight quarters, the team didn't give up and emerged victorious.
If Green Bay wants to make any noise in the playoffs, they must generate some semblance of a running game. Defensive coordinator, Bob Sanders needs to be less afraid of the big play and blitz more.
Don’t look now, but the Packers are 3-0 against three playoff teams from last season. Next Sunday they go into the Metrodome to take on the Vikings and their average pass defense (but incredibly strong run defense). Will the Packers even bother with a running game at all?
Photo/Benny Sieu
