Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL
As a Packer fan who lived through the ’70s and ’80s it can be very easy to see these first six games through the same lens. Countering that thought in my mind is that today’s NFL is defined by the word parity more than ever before. ACL Cornhole has a motto: “Anybody can play. Anybody can win.” Everybody can’t play in the NFL but seemingly any team can win. I don’t remember that being the case in the past. Does history back up my statement?
The present does. Five of the 14 teams that made the playoffs last year (Bengals, Chargers, Vikings, Buccaneers, Giants) are a combined 13-19 so far this season. Meanwhile four teams that didn’t make the playoffs (Steelers, Browns, Lions, Falcons) are a combined 17-9. And yet none of the nine aforementioned teams’ seasons has been defined by any stretch. Neither has the Packers’.
Daniel from Chillicothe, MO
It is interesting to me that our current style of play where we get the offense rolling in the second half dictates the course of the game with it being a low-scoring affair. Do you think that’s a credit to our D being pretty good to keep it low scoring or more of a byproduct of the offenses of NO, Raiders, and Broncos? In half our games this year, the winner has scored less than 20 points. League-wise, 15% of games have a winner with less than 20 points.
The simplest way to put it is the defense, by and large, has held middling to below-average offenses to their somewhat expected output. The Packers have faced only one offense so far ranked in the top dozen in the league in either yards or points per game: Detroit (fourth in yards, eighth in points). Rankings can and will change, but four of Green Bay’s next six opponents have offenses ranked in the top dozen in either yards or points: Minnesota (11th in yards), the two L.A. teams (Rams sixth in yards; Chargers eighth in yards, tied for 11th in points), and Detroit again. The tests will get tougher for Green Bay’s defense, and the style of games likely will change, too.
You probably heard this from several actual football officials, but I believe that defensive offsides is a free play as long as the offense starts the play legally. If the offense jumps, the foul is still against the defense, but the play is whistled dead. Defense unabated to the quarterback or otherwise making contact with an offensive player also kills the play. I think.
Correct. The bottom line is offenses need to decide whether they want to try for a free play or guarantee the 5 yards. Because if you want your offensive lineman to come out of his stance and point at the defensive player who jumped first, the play is getting blown dead. I said before, for a few years there, officials were giving Rodgers and the Packers free plays even when offensive linemen were moving before the snap. They cracked down on that and free plays became mostly relegated to catching the defense with 12 on the field while substituting.
Mike from New Orleans, LA
I saw a clip from the DET-SEA game earlier this year where Jared Goff had a ball fake in play-action and a Seattle player tackled him resulting in a penalty. How is that a foul if Goff is trying to trick the D? Shouldn’t that also mean on any play-action play tackling the RB is a penalty? Please help my brain understand.
That was quite the highlight, but the flag wasn’t thrown solely because the defender tackled Goff without the ball. He landed with his full body weight on the QB, which is a foul whether the QB has the ball or not. The same standard would not apply to a running back.
Matthew from Janesville, WI
Hey guys, trying to understand the difference between Walker jumping the O-line on the FG a few weeks back and getting flagged while Myles Garrett did it last week and was praised for his athleticism with no flag. Was there a difference between the two plays?
Yes, Garrett did not take a running start, so jumping the line was legal, and rather incredible.
Hi Mike, did you get a chance to see the new stadium at Platteville High? The Hillmen have a nice team this year.
I did not but I’ve heard about it. I’ll have to make a point to catch a game there sometime. Good luck to my alma mater in the playoffs. I was in sixth grade when PHS won its first and still only state football championship.
Mitch from Bettendorf, IA
“If the Packers throw three straight times and punt, everyone would be asking why they aren’t running the ball.” This actually made me laugh because I think the exact same way when people throw these questions out there. How can you win in a lose/lose situation? The media and fans play this game too much. You are both winners in my eyes and keep (most of) us sane! Several people need to remember an old Vic-ism that goes somewhere along the lines of “don’t mistake results with intentions.”
Hey, I thought that was my line?
Michael from Berrien Springs, MI
People who wonder if the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.
