Here’s a weekly look at the top and bottom five in the NFL:
1. New England Patriots (4-0)
Previous Rank: 1
Sports books probably made a mint on bettors wagering the over in the Pats-Bengals game last night. Here’s the thing though; did anyone really believe the No. 1 defense in the league was going to allow Cincy to score at will on them? Especially without Rudi Johnson?
2. Indianapolis Colts (4-0)
Previous Rank: 2
Even though they can run at will on most teams, it must make Indy fans a little uneasy to watch the Broncos rip off 223 yards on the ground on Sunday.
3. Dallas Cowboys (4-0)
Previous Rank: 3
Does anybody hear that? It’s the sound of the Cowboys losing money for not re-upping with Tony Romo (112.0 QB rating, 1,199 yards, 13 total TDs) in the offseason.
4. Green Bay Packers (4-0)
Previous Rank: 5
Can the Packers actually continue to win without running the football? While it’s a bit unconventional, with the way Brett Favre and the defense is playing, yeah, I think they can.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
Previous Rank: 4
Even though they squandered a chance to remain perfect with a loss to Arizona, Pittsburgh is still arguably the best 3-1 team in the league. Giving up at least one turnover per game thus far is a bit concerning, however.
28. New Orleans Saints (0-3)
Previous Rank: 28
Divisional opponent (Carolina)….at home…coming off a BYE week. Time to see what you and your team is made of Sean Payton.
29. Buffalo Bills (1-3)
Previous Rank: 31
Make the switch official Dick Jauron! The J.P. Losman experiment is over – it’s Trent Edwards time…
30. Atlanta Falcons (1-3)
Previous Rank: 32
The Falcons’ offense seems to be gelling under Bobby Petrino and Joey Harrington is starting to prove doubters (including this one) wrong, but the running game is still absent.
31. St. Louis Rams (0-4)
Previous Rank: 29
This team appears to be in shambles, from poor defensive performances to injuries, and of course, a very stagnant offense.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-4)
Previous Rank: 30
Miami fans are used to getting poor play out of their quarterback, but not from the defense. Jason Taylor is non-existent.
What’s your top and bottom five?
Shhhh – Dude! You’re blowing this great “flying under the radar” motif we’ve got going up here in Green Bay. Let us sneak up on people for a while for pity’s sake.
Once we clinch the division, you can put us back into the top five. Right now, I’m not even entirely convinced. Personally, I think we’re playing a little over our heads at the moment.
I would be interested to hear just what John thinks the hold up in the running game is:
1) Our coaching is substandard in this area
2) Our linemen either don’t get it or aren’t very good
3) Our back either don’t get it or aren’t very good
4) The coach just hasn’t committed to it yet or lacks confidence
5) We’ve just been playing very good front seven groupings and passing was the best chance to beat them
Maybe something I haven’t considered yet? I’m just stumped. This is the same coaching staff and line that Ahman Green had over 1000 yards with last year without even playing every game. Leads me towards thinking our backs aren’t very good.
Pity, if we had some shred of a rush attack, we might really have something up here, but feeling like you must throw on 3rd and 1 . . . . ? Not a good sign.
I’ll certainly pass your question on to JP, Jeff…
In my very humble opinion, I think the zone-blocking scheme doesn’t fit the Packers tackles very well. I think Clifton and Tauscher are suited more for a power scheme due to their size. Plus, with the passing game working as well as it has, it appears that McCarthy isn’t being very patient with the run in general. It’s hard to blame him, however, because obviously if something is working, why stop?
That zone blocking scheme takes time to master. With Jackson and Wynn, GB certainly has the backs for the scheme, because they’re one-cut and go type of runners. But the scheme requires its linemen to be small and quick, and block an area instead of pulling and plowing right ahead like a power run attack. Not sure if the o-line is suited for the zone blocking scheme and apparently word is McCarthy might try to intergrate more of the power attack moving forward. He did that last year and it worked well (as you noted with Green’s 1,000-plus yards)…
That’s just my observations at this point though. Sorry for blowing your “under the radar” cover!
I’d say it’s a combination of all the above, with an emphasis on #3, #4 and #5 and the zone/power blocking dilemma that Anthony mentioned. Green Bay has faced four of the tougher rush defenses in the league – Minnesota (1st), Philadelphia (5th), San Diego (12th) and the Giants (14th), and in the last two games it was clear that the gameplan was to pass, pass and pass some more. Here are the pass/run ratios, yards per pass attempt and yards per carry over the first four games.
Eagles – 43/16, 4.9 ypa, 3.0 ypc
Giants – 38/27, 7.5 ypa, 3.1 ypc
Chargers – 45/11, 8.2 ypa, 3.7 ypc
Vikings – 45/16, 7.6 ypa, 2.8 ypc
That’s a 71/29 pass/run ratio thus far. I think that the coaching staff probably feels like they can’t really run the ball and no one has really stopped their passing game, so why force something if it’s not working? Favre is averaging 7.1 yards per attempt, which isn’t particularly good, but the offense is able to move the ball, which explains the pass/run ratio.
If the Packers had a RB whose talent demanded that they feed him the ball (Ahman still fell into that category last season), then they would be more focused on working that back into the gameplan. As it stands, Green Bay is averaging a league-worst 2.7 yards per carry, so doesn’t look like that pure talent is there. The offensive line isn’t really opening up any holes, either. The most effective running plays seem to be the draws and traps that lure the ends and tackles upfield, creating holes with less effort and subterfuge. Clearly, the O-line is doing a fantastic job protecting Fave, as he has attempted more passes than anyone in the league but has only been sacked 8 times in four games.
The team’s four best offensive players (Favre, Driver, Jennings and Jones) are head and shoulders above the next guy on the list (Jackson, Wynn, Lee?) so it makes sense to try to get the ball into the hands of your playmakers. I think, with Green gone, there is less of an emphasis on running the ball and that’s how the team got to where they are. So far, it hasn’t hurt them, but eventually it probably will. I’m particularly concerned about the winter months, when the temperatures drop and the winds pick up, and it becomes that much more difficult to execute a pitch and catch. Luckily, the defense looks to be top notch, so hopefully they’ll be able to win some games in those conditions.
I agree with Anthony on the Packers. At this point if the thing ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That defense is playing hard, and Favre seems to be on fire right now. JP makes a great observation on the fact that the winter months may slow down that passing game, so we will see if they can step up some kind of running attack….On another note, Anthony is so right about Romo!!!
I saw 2 games at Texas Stadium tail end of last season, and whatever they have been putting in his wheaties is working!!!…that is not the same player I watched…amazing
Keep up the good work Anthony and JP!!!!
Hey, thanks Tenn Jed! Glad to see you back around these parts again – we appreciate your comments!