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Packers Analysis: Finally!By Jay SorgiFinally, we have a Packers victory in the 2009 season we can be proud of. A 17-7 win over the high-quality but much-loathed Dallas Cowboys which bring a number of "finallies," meaning that a lot of things that had brought complaint after complaint, and "we'll get that corrected" after "we'll get that corrected" from Mike McCarthy, were corrected. 1) Our first "finally" has to do with the defense. This was the AWESOME defense that had dominated teams in the preseason. This defense tore the Dallas running game apart to the point where they only rushed the ball 14 times and gained 60 yards. Save three double digit gains, and that turned into 11 rushes for 22 yards. That's domination, folks. 2) Our second "finally" comes from the Packers' 3-4 blitz. Mark this down on your calendar: the blitz worked! Five sacks, and they kept Romo rushed all night long. Key credit where credit is due: the near single-handed destruction of the Cowboys explosive offense by Charles Woodson. How do these stats look? Tackles: 8 Sacks: 1 Interceptions: 1 Forced Fumbles: 1 Then add this stat: 47 receiving yards by former Packer killer Jason Witten. Why did he not do much? Charles Woodson. The Packers decided to put him often on the all-universe tight end, and though he caught five passes, he did VERY little all day long. 3) The third "finally:" smart, short passes on offense. Aaron Rodgers loves to find the big play. He often spends too much time in the pocket trying to find it. (Read below.) In this game, the Packers schemed their way to helping him find open throws on three-step drops or fewer. Especially in the early going, they made Dallas realize they weren't going to get to Rodgers often because they schemed their way to protecting him. 4) The fourth "finally" belongs to Aaron Rodgers. Finally, he's figured out the idea of throwing the ball away. Twice I caught him making smart throwaways to avoid interceptions, when you almost would NEVER have seen that. Yes, he was sacked twice, but Dallas' pass rush is fearsome, and I blame the O-line for most of the pass rush problems, and not Rodgers' feet. Are there some reasons for complaint? Of course. Penalties continue to plague the Packers. They left 100 yards of offense on the field on 12 penalties. They would have had 383 total yards of offense had they played a mistake-free game. Could they have run the ball more? Sure. 27 rushes on a day compared to 41 pass plays isn't what you desire for offensive balance. But when you create three turnovers and give up none? Nice. Packers fans, feel free to step back, take a deep breath, and scream out the word "finally" to all within ear shot of you. The Packers themselves are probably doing the same tonight. |
      
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