Here are five quick-hit thoughts about the Packers’ 21-14 win over the Bears in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

1. The Packers’ improbable run continues.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate what the 2010 Green Bay Packers have been able to do. They entered the season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, only to see their hopes seemingly wash away because of injuries. Needing two wins in the final two weeks just to qualify for the postseason, they crushed the Giants and edged out the Bears to clinch the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Against long odds, the Packers then go on the road and knock off the Eagles, the No. 1-seeded Falcons and the No. 2-seeded Bears to reach the Super Bowl. It’s hard enough to win on the road, nevertheless do so in the postseason when home field advantage is so paramount. The Packers are red-hot and match up well with either the Jets or Steelers.

2. Capers deserves a lot of praise for the play of his defense.
Rex Ryan has earned a lot of attention this postseason for his defensive game plans, but Dom Capers deserves some of the spotlight after what Green Bay did on Sunday. His defense is the main reason the Packers won today – not Aaron Rodgers. The Bears made things interesting in the fourth quarter and the Packers did catch a break when Jay Cutler left the game with a knee injury, but let’s not take anything away from Capers’ game plan. The Bears could do nothing offensively for the first three quarters and their offensive line couldn’t stop Green Bay’s pass rush. Matt Forte had a couple of nice runs and Caleb Hanie made some clutch throws in the fourth quarter but again, domination was on display. The Packers held the Bears to 218 passing yards and 83 rushing, all while forcing three turnovers. On a day when Rodgers wasn’t at his best, the Packers needed a strong defensive effort and that’s exactly what they got.

3. Shields played the game of his young career.
How good was 23-year-old Sam Shields on Sunday? His interception (or semi-interception depending on whether or not you believe he had possession of the ball) right before half stopped Chicago from taking some momentum into the locker room and his second interception sealed the game. He was also a major factor as a blitzer, accounting for one of Green Bay’s two sacks and supplying the pressure on B.J. Raji’s pick-six in the fourth quarter. Kudos must be given to Capers for throwing a new wrinkle at Chicago’s offense by turning Shields into an unexpected X-factor. The undrafted rookie free agent was all over the place on Sunday.

4. This loss doesn’t hang on the Bears’ defense.
There’s not much more Chicago’s defense could have done to win this game. They gave up a touchdown on the first drive but they rebounded nicely after that. Thanks to the offense’s inability to move the ball, Chicago’s defense was constantly in poor field position for most of the first half but it managed to keep the deficit to just 14 points at halftime. Then when the offense showed some life by cutting the score to 14-7 early in the fourth, the Bears’ D once again came up big with a couple of huge stops. In the end, Chicago was done in by its offense but there’s no doubt that its defense came to play. Brian Urlacher was all over the place and for this unit to hold Rodgers to only 244 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after what he did to the Falcons last week was impressive.

5. A truly disastrous day for Cutler and the Bears’ O-line.
There’s nothing that Cutler can do about getting hurt. It’s football – injuries happen. But sorry Cutler supporters: he was awful in the first half. He missed an open Devin Hester early in the game that could have given the Bears a first down and set them up in great field position. He also looked for the Packers’ pass rush instead of anticipating it and he just never looked sure of himself. Give Green Bay’s defense credit for its play, but Cutler had to be better. Of course, it’s not like his offensive line did him many favors. He was constantly under duress and he didn’t have time to survey the field and go through his reads. Even if he was able to finish the game, his O-line wasn’t prepared for the pressure that Green Bay brought. I also thought Mike Martz panicked a little in the second quarter by trying to move the ball through the air instead of staying balanced. Forte was about the only offensive player for Chicago that’s deserving of praise. He and the defense kept the Bears in the game when it looked like all hope was lost in the third quarter. Give Hanie credit for breathing life into Chicago’s offense after Todd Collins’ pathetic performance, but it just wasn’t the Bears’ day offensively.

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Packers and whether or not Green Bay fans can expect the offensive line to keep Aaron Rodgers upright this season.

You’re dreaming if you don’t think the Packers have what it takes to reach the Super Bowl this year. Aaron Rodgers proved last season that he could play at an elite level and Dom Capers was a miracle worker (he only had one offseason to transform the Packers from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and they finished 2nd in the NFL in total defense) in his first year as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator.

But even though expectations are high right now in the land of cheese, one question continues to loom large: Can the offensive line keep Rodgers upright?

I don’t know how Rodgers didn’t wind up breathing out of a tube at some point last year. The amount of blows he took on a weekly basis was flabbergasting, but to his credit he somehow went on to throw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns.

I don’t think you’re listening: He threw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns with the equivalent of a FINISH LINE ribbon for an offensive line.

Now, was some of that his fault? Yes. At times, he took far too long to get rid of the ball and he sometimes took sacks that he shouldn’t have. But most of the blame could be laid at the feet of the offensive line.

Realizing his biggest need was to get more protection for Rodgers, GM Ted Thompson used the team’s first round pick on Iowa offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga in April. While veterans Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher are expected to start this year, Bulaga gives the Packers much-needed depth and an eventual successor to either tackle.

Of course, given the amount of injuries (not to mention poor play) that the Packers sustained on the offensive line last year, Bulaga better be ready to play as a rookie. Tauscher gave up a sack, four QB hits and nine QB hurries in two games alone against the Vikings last year. On the other side, Clifton was more than adequate when he was on the field, but he couldn’t stay healthy and T.J. Lang struggled as his replacement.

When Daryn Colledge slid to left tackle at one point during the season, the combination of him and Lang was an utter disaster in pass protection. The only saving grace from the play of last year’s O-line was right guard Josh Sitton, who played every snap and was solid in both run-blocking and pass-protection, and center Scott Wells, who turned out to be a valuable commodity in the run game.

If Clifton can stay healthy this season, then Colledge can stay at guard where he’s more comfortable. And if Tauscher struggles again this year, at least it’ll be Bulaga that replaces him and not Lang or Allen Barbre. (The same can be said for if Clifton can’t stay healthy again.)

The bottom line is that the Packers are in much better shape now than they were a year ago because of Bulaga. But let’s keep in mind that he’s only a rookie and at this point, he’s going to be counted on as a swing tackle and not a starter. The key this year is for Clifton to stay healthy and for Tauscher to play better than he did in ’09. If Clifton goes down and both Tauscher and Bulaga struggle, then we could see a repeat of last year.

But even with all of their troubles in pass protection last year, the Packers weren’t a bad run-blocking unit in ‘09. If they can pick up their pass protection even a little bit in order to give Rodgers more time, then the sky’s the limit for Green Bay in 2010.

It was only a matter of time before the Patriots gave outside linebacker Adalius Thomas the boot. He was already stealing money from them with his poor play before he became a distraction last season, thus leading to his release on Monday.

One team’s trash is sometimes another team’s treasure, as the Packers could emerge as serious contenders for Thomas’ services. Even though GM Ted Thompson insists that the left outside linebacker position in Dom Capers’ 3-4 defense isn’t a dire need, it is.

2009 seventh round pick Brad Jones saw a fair amount of playing time last year when Aaron Kampman went down with an injury. But while he was decent against the run, he’s not the pass-rusher that Clay Matthews is on the other side. And in Capers’ system, both outside linebackers have to be able to get after the quarterback.

That’s where Thomas comes in. While the 33-year-old has lost a step over the past couple of years, Thomas can still get after the quarterback when he’s motivated. And seeing as how Thompson did nothing to upgrade the outside linebacker position during the draft, the Packers could use someone to push Jones for the starting job.

The Packers could upgrade their LOLB spot by adding Thomas to a one-year deal and still groom Jones for the future if they wanted. If Thomas turns out to be a bust, then Jones has already shown that he’s a capable starter and the team could rid themselves of Thomas after the season.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/04/26/the-packers-would-be-a-great-fit-for-thomas/feed/ 1 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/05/favre%e2%80%99s-wet-dream-is-mere-hours-away/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/05/favre%e2%80%99s-wet-dream-is-mere-hours-away/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:36:35 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=25829

The moment Brett Favre has been waiting for since Ted Thompson crapped in his cereal over 12 months ago is vastly approaching.

The Vikings host the Packers tonight at the Metrodome and Brett will no doubt be fired up to try to stick it to Thompson, as he so amply put it when the GM traded him to the Jets last year. (The fact that Favre put Thompson in a bad position with his fickle changing of the mind is still lost on Brett, but that’s a story for another time.)

The question becomes, will Brett beat Thompson’s Packers tonight?

Like most weeks, the Vikings will try to establish the run with Adrian Peterson in hopes of opening things up in the passing game. The Packers have a solid secondary, so Brad Childress would be foolish to take the ball out of Peterson’s hands early in the game and start forcing the action with Favre in the passing game. It would behoove Childress not to get wrapped up in the Favre-vs-Green Bay death match and just keep things simple with AP.

What would be interesting to see unfold is if the Packers dare Favre to beat them by loading the box with eight defenders to stop Peterson. As previously noted, Green Bay’s secondary is solid and Dom Capers could leave his corners on an island with Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin if he wanted to sell out to stop the run.

It would be in the Packers best interest if they get into a shootout tonight. If he gets protection (which has been a major problem for Green Bay so far), Aaron Rodgers can go toe to toe with any opposing quarterback if both teams start throwing the ball vertically. A Favre-Rodgers shootout would make for great television.

But alas, shutting down Peterson is easier said then done. He’s faced eight men in the box multiple times before and has still pounded out 100-plus yards on the ground. Still, a man could hope for a Monday night shootout, right?

Comment starter: Will Favre get his revenge tonight or does Rodgers outplay his predecessor?

Last month we started looking at last season’s statistics for position players in fantasy football land, and today we’ll look at a position many often overlook. That’s fantasy defenses, which can sometimes put up just enough points to earn your team a victory once in a while. It’s always smart to try and grab one of the top units, although as we’ve seen before, things change, sometimes drastically, from year to year with fantasy D’s. Me? I like to grab my defense before my kicker. This list is based on point totals from one of my leagues, so keep in mind that stats vary from year to year.

1. Baltimore Ravens—The Ravens’ defense is perennially awesome, and we’ll find out for sure how much of that was due to former coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head honcho for the Jets. Ryan took plenty of players with him too, like LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonhard, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. Reed just keeps getting better every year, and his sick nose for the ball is one reason the Ravens had a league high 26 picks. They will keep scoring low as always, but their 34 sacks last season isn’t much to get excited about. Bottom line: The Ravens won’t be a number one this year, but are still top 10.

2. Philadelphia Eagles—Sadly, coordinator Jim Johnson passed away this week, though he was on leave from the team anyway. Look for the Eagles to continue Johnson’s schemes however, which means blitz, blitz and more blitz. What that means to you is sack points, and while Brian Dawkins is now in Denver, the secondary is still strong with corners Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel and safeties Quintin Mikell and Quintin Demps. Bottom line: 48 sacks is a lot, and the Eagles may not match that in ’09, but they aren’t going to suck by any means.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers—You don’t win the Super Bowl without a stout unit, and this won finished second in the league with 51 sacks, led by two awesome linebackers, NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, and LaMarr Woodley. The Steelers also ranked #1 in points allowed and yard allowed, with 20 picks and three defensive scores. Bottom line: With the front seven intact, this unit may be the top defense taken in many FF drafts.

4. Tennessee Titans—If you live in Nashville like I do, you saw this team play a lot, and let me tell you….their games are pretty boring to watch. Well, unless you like 13-10 scores every week. Punishing DT Albert Haynesworth is now in Washington, but Tony Brown and Kyle Vanden Bosch are no slouches, and CB Cortland Finnegan is a ball hawk like Ed Reed. Bottom line: More boring games for me, more fantasy points for you.

5. Chicago Bears—Their 22 interceptions probably had a lot to do with the Bears finishing as high as they did in 2008, but the Monsters of the Midway with just 28 sacks? To put that in perspective, the Saints also tallied 28 sacks. And besides Brian Urlacher, go ahead try to name five players on this defense. The Bears gave up 350 points in ’08, which is over 100 more than the Titans, Steelers and Ravens. Still, it’s the Bears. Bottom line: You can pick them, but I’m only picking them as a bye week backup.

6. Tampa Bay Bucs—This is not the same unit that ranked in the top 10 in points allowed and yards allowed in 2008, with Jon Gruden gone and Raheem Morris at the helm. Derrick Brooks is gone as are Cato June and Jovan Haye, but the likes of DE Gaines Adams and the ageless CB Ronde Barber remain. How much of Gruden’s mark will be missed? Bottom line: With so much turnover in the front office and on the field, I’m not taking my chances with these guys.

7. Green Bay Packers—Everyone expected big things from the Pack in 2008, but it was their offense, led by QB Aaron Brooks and WR Greg Jennings that were the bright spots on a mediocre team. So now with new D-coordinator Dom Capers and his 3-4 in place, things will look different at Lambeau. Aaron Kampman is now an outside linebacker, and BJ Raji and AJ Hawk are left to clog up the middle. Kampman will likely have more sacks, but how will the 3-4 affect overall fantasy points? Bottom line: I’m going out on a limb—the Pack will be much better defensively, and could be a fantasy sleeper.

8. New York Jets—DT Kris Jenkins is a monster, and Rex Ryan brought along a few toys, like Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard, as we mentioned earlier. Eric Mangini also took some players with him to Cleveland, but the Jets will still keep scores low, rack up sacks, and score on defense (5 defensive TDs in 2008). CB Darrelle Revis had 5 picks and keeps getting better. Bottom line: Proceed with caution, but still a Top 10 D.

9. Indianapolis Colts—Even with Tony Dungy gone and Jim Caldwell running the team, the Colts still give up way too much ground on the ground. Thing is, they are opportunistic, and they have Dwight Freeney attacking the QB and a bunch of under the radar players (like LB Gary Brackett) wreaking havoc (30 forced fumbles and 5 defensive scores in 2008). Bottom line: The Colts’ D will keep them in games, meaning these guys will continue to play hard and put up decent fantasy points.

10. Minnesota Vikings—These guys are damn near as good as the Ravens, led on the line by Jared Allen and DT’s Pat and Kevin Williams (45 team sacks in 2008). 12 picks from this unit is baffling, as is allowing 333 points, but they can be better. Bottom line: The Vikes may not be a true top 10 this season, so I’d take my chances with the revamped Giants or the sack-happy Cowboys before them.

Teams that aren’t on this list you’ll want to draft: New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins.