Packers Morning Buzz: No-huddle, quick-strike offense can click
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.
After a dismal 31-17 loss at Washington, the Packers (1-1-1) will host the Buffalo Bills at noon Sunday.
We'll start with Pete Dougherty and Eric Baranczyk writing about how the Packers' no-huddle, ball-control offense is a seeming paradox, because it means both pushing tempo and playing with patience.
Pete and Eric write:
The Packers’ first drive of the third quarter Sunday had everything they should be looking for. McCarthy ordered the no-huddle, and Rodgers led a touchdown drive that lasted 15 plays and took seven minutes off the clock. Graham had two catches — a three-yarder in the flat and a 13-yarder just behind the linebackers. Running backs caught four passes — Montgomery turned two checkdowns into 19 yards, and Jamaal Williams had a checkdown and screen go for a combined 16 yards.
After that drive got the Packers back in the game at 28-17, their offense was undone not by its approach but by ballhandling mistakes. One drive ended on Randall Cobb’s fourth-down drop, another on Lance Kendrick’s drop of a big gainer on a third down, and yet another on a Cobb fumble. They can’t win when the side of the ball that has to carry the team implodes like that.
The Packers’ hope is that as Mike Pettine’s defensive scheme is ingrained and rookie cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson improve, they’ll have a much better defense in December than they do now. But that might or might not happen, and regardless, it’s up to McCarthy and Rodgers to turn up the pressure by making opponents feel like they have to score a touchdown every time they touch the ball.
You can read the entire column here:
Pete and Eric handed down their position-by-position grades for the Washington game:
Jim Owczarski writes about the season-ending injury to prized free-agent defensive line addition Muhammad Wilkerson and other battered and bruised Packers:
In his weekly "4 Downs" column, Pete looks at the ramifications of losing Wilkerson:
If you missed Ryan Wood's weekly postgame chat, catch up on the conversation here:
Packers coach Mike McCarthy retains faith in safety Kentrell Brice, who has been in the vicinity of two long touchdown passes the last two weeks:
Packers safety Josh Jones finally was cleared to return from an ankle injury last week, but was listed as inactive for the Washington game. He sounds eager to get back on the field:
Packers ticket prices fluctuate depending on opposing teams' records and injuries, writes Rich Ryman:
An Appleton native posted a parody video of the Clay Matthews controversy that went viral:
Peter King of NBC Sports weighs in on the Matthews roughing-the-passer penalties:
ESPN's Mike Golic doesn't expect the NFL to make any changes to the roughing-the-passer rules:
And then there's this from the Department of Unintentional Consequences:
How flawed are the Packers? Let Tom Oates count the ways for the Wisconsin State Journal:
The Power Sweep thinks Mike McCarthy is too conservative:
This certainly dims the luster of the 49ers' visit Oct. 15 to play the Packers on "Monday Night Football":
The Packers must visit the imposing Rams on Oct. 28:
Veteran Minnesota scribe Sid Hartman absolves Kirk Cousins of blame for the Vikings' blowout loss to the Bills:
If you think the Packers are having a tough run of injuries, how about the Falcons (who will visit Lambeau Field on Dec. 9):