There is no way to sugarcoat the truly terrible display of football put on by the Green Bay Packers in their first game back from the bye. Given an extra week to prepare for life without Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy and crew somehow managed to come up with a game plan that was even worse than their strategy against the New Orleans Saints. The defense appeared undisciplined and uninterested in being there as Mike Daniels played one of his worst games as a professional, setting the tone for lackadaisical effort that failed to force a single punt from the Lions. Worst of all, Brett Hundley showed no signs of development, panicking in the face of blitzes, taking several terrible sacks and missing wide open receivers. It was a complete and total failure across the board.
Mike McCarthy
McCarthy is not one to deviate much from his standard offense, focusing on execution over tactical creativity, but if ever there was a time for some tactical creativity, it was tonight. The Packers have had two years to scout and train Hundley, and by now they should understand his strengths and weaknesses. He had trouble with the rush in college and he still does. His mobility will gain him yards, but it will not buy him time to make a throw, because he is a poor passer on the move. He has a strong arm and can hit guys on outs, but he struggles with down the field throws. He has a lot of big deficiencies, but he also has tools to work with, but instead McCarthy chose to hide him behind screens and dump-offs.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The fact is that Hundley looked bad, and McCarthy’s strategy indicated that he believes Hundley is bad, but more read option would have at least given him a chance. An offense that capitalized on his mobility would have at least given them a chance. McCarthy attempted to “simplify” things for Hundley, but “simple” need not be predictable. You can have a package of plays that is both easily understandable by the offense, and difficult to figure out for the defense, especially if your quarterback can take off running. Instead, McCarthy called a game as if he had no interest in winning, and Hundley obliged.
Hundley Was Awful
A bad game plan may make things tougher on a young quarterback, but it would have been nice to see Hundley at least execute the plays he was given, and on the front he failed miserably. When you have a prospect in development you need to see some improvement over time, but much of what plagued Hundley in college is still an issue for him now, and while we should not overreact to one game, essentially every problem Hundley had against Detroit is a continuation of every problem he had in preseason or in college.
His first and biggest problem is that he does not keep his eyes downfield when being rushed. He is especially susceptible to blitzes, and bailing out of the pocket too early cost him several huge plays. Here he misses a wide open Jordy Nelson for a touchdown.
While Aaron Rodgers’ internal clock runs a bit long at times Hundley is far too quick to run from the pocket even when there is no pressure at all. On this 3rd and 10 play Hundley should have stepped up in the pocket and kept his eyes upfield. Instead he bails, and while he finds Randall Cobb, it’s not enough for a first down.
Hundley also has a bad habit of locking onto his receiver early. One of the most important skills a quarterback can have is seeing without looking. If you give a defensive back any indication of where you’re going with the ball, you are at risk for a pick, and you bury any chance your receiver had for yards after the catch. Here is Hundley staring down Davante Adams.
Hundley looks to have a single read on many plays, and in almost all instances he fails to look off defenders.
Hundley really didn’t do anything well, and there is no reason to believe any significant improvement is coming. This game came after the Packer bye, and the offensive staff had extra time to tailor a gameplan to his strengths, and work on his weaknesses. If this is what Hundley is going to give them every week, they should consider moving on to other options.
Defense
Dom Capers’ defense relies primarily on turnovers to be effective, and they rely on a strong pass rush bolstered by blitzing to create that pass rush. Capers brought extra rushers repeatedly in this game, but the Lions picked up every one of them with ease, leaving only Nick Perry and Dean Lowry to split a lone sack. Mike Daniels should be embarrassed, and when everyone watches tape later this week I’m sure he will be. His inexcusable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Lions’ first drive on 3rd and 14 allowed the Lions to score the game’s first touchdown, and he was a complete non-factor for the rest of the day.
|
|
On a 2nd-and-18 play in the 3rd quarter, the Lions somehow managed to get Golden Tate singled on inside linebacker Blake Martinez, who was smoked for 21 yards. Matthew Stafford operated without opposition, converting 61% of their 3rd downs, and holding onto the ball for 36 minutes. The defense was unable to get off the field, and when they did, the offense almost always put them right back out there. Tackling was atrocious across the board and the Packer safeties frequently started 20-30 yards off of the line of scrimmage, allowing for enormous holes to develop in a porous Packer zone.
Playing your safeties deep prevents huge plays, but the Lions are one of the best teams at generating YAC (Yards After Catch) in football, and they are more than happy to exploit the enormous hole in front of the safeties for easy first downs and huge gains. Capers’ defense, when it does work, only really works when the team is ahead. If the Packers are playing a competitive game or trailing, an opposing offense can easily exploit its weaknesses, and the Lions took their time, methodically moved up and down the field, and took exactly what the Packers gave them. It was far too much.
Going Forward
Green Bay faces the Bears next week, and there is no reason to believe things will improve. The Bear defense has quietly been very good, and Hundley will have problems moving the ball if nothing changes. The Bear offense is atrocious, and that fact may keep Green Bay in the game, but if Mike McCarthy keeps playing the same strategy with an inadequate quarterback, the team will continue to lose. McCarthy and Capers have shown that they can only run one kind of team. That team no longer exists, and if the incumbent coaches cannot adjust to their new reality it calls into question exactly how good they were in the first place.
