GBU: Packers 35, Bucs 26

Posted by Brandon Rifkin on November 21, 2011   Jump To Comments

THE GOOD

• Rodgers-to-Nelson. It just seems like they’re completely on the same page and full of mutual trust.  Jordy’s displayed excellent hands, underrated speed and great route-running, quickly making him one of Rodgers top targets.  In recent weeks we’ve seen the sneaky strength he possesses – enough to convince Rodgers to quick toss it to him and let him just run through a tackle or two to get in the end zone.  From a fantasy perspective, there’s no doubt that Jordy is an every week starter.  I wouldn’t worry about matchups or anything else – just plug him in and forget it.  I’ll toss in the usual caveat about starting Packers receivers: On any given week, they just might not see the ball enough to put up big points.  Take a look at Greg Jennings this week for a perfect example.  But that can happen anywhere, evidenced by Stafford throwing 5 TD’s to 5 different Lions, not ONE of them to Megatron.  TL;DR – Jordy Nelson is awesome and him and Rodgers are absolutely clicking.
• Tramon Williams, ballhawk extraordinaire. Boy is it really fun watching him patrol the secondary.  He’s bona fide stud and a guy you build your secondary around.  Woodson is great and all, but he’s clearly at the end of his run of dominance.  With Nick Collins’ murky future, the secondary will lean on Tramon to make the big play to bail them out.  And I’m perfectly OK with that.  Not that it matters how I feel, though.
• Hurdle us once, shame on you.  Hurdle us twice, get chokeslammed.

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Man that video quality is awful.  TURN YOUR CAMERAS LANDSCAPE WHEN YOU TAKE VIDEO.  IT AIN’T HARD.

• Woodson resurrects the Gravedigger. Awesome.
• Randall Cobb with another big return. And no fumble!
• B.J. Raji rushing for touchdowns. I just wish he tried to go over the top.

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THE BAD

• The Packers rushing attack. Overall #’s aren’t terrible (23 carries for 91 yards, 4 YPC), but Rodgers was the team’s most effective rusher.  As expected we saw a lot more James Starks than Ryan Grant, but neither of them really did anything too special, save Starks’ 20 yard scamper.
• Mason Crosby has finally proven that he is still, in fact, human. Mason only had one field goal attempt against Tampa, a 29 yard chip shot that he promptly donked off the right upright.  We could file this under ‘ugly’, but he’s been way too good this year to get all worked up over one miss.  Let’s just hope it’s an aberration and not the start of a trend.
• Green Bay’s pass rush. Just two sacks despite blitzing more often than not, not a whole lot of push from the D-Line… it just wasn’t where it needs to be.  You give any QB in the league enough time against man coverage and he’ll find someone open on a crossing route.  Tampa was able to do that way too often.  It’s gotta get better.

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THE UGLY

• The tackling on LeGarrette Blount’s touchdown. ATROCIOUS.  I can’t imagine the defense is excited to watch this in the film room:

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• The blocking by the punt team. If not for a heady play by Masthay, Tampa blocks that punt and probably strolls into the end zone for 6.  Fortunately, this happened:

(Punt formation) T.Masthay right end to GB 12 for -9 yards. FUMBLES, and recovers at GB 18. T.Masthay to GB 27 for 9 yards. FUMBLES, ball out of bounds at GB 27.

• Aaron Rodgers threw an interception. I was absolutely FLOORED when I saw that.  That’s how good he is – the bar is so high that a random interception was difficult to process.  I’m putting this under the ‘ugly’ instead of ‘bad’ because it was a pretty damn bad decision/throw.  I don’t feel remotely bad being critical of it because I’m sure Rodgers is 100x more harsh when reviewing it himself.  Just a blip on the MVP’s radar, though.