Post Game Thread : Washington Defeats Green Bay 42-25

Didn't want to chime in until I'd calmed down a little. Like to read what reactions others have had to the game. For the last two weeks people have really been going hard on the offense, because it is not the fine tuned machine we've come to expect for over a year now. The criticism is deserved, but the ugly sister in this story is the defense, or lack of it.

Coming into the season we thought we had one of the best secondaries in a long time. Randall and Rollins should improve after solid rookie seasons. Shields was playing like a #1 CB. Dix and Burnett seemed solid in the middle. Expectations were so high we let Hayward walk because there wasn't room for him! Remember? Martinez was impressing everyone and Ryan was improved over his rookie year. The DL was a big ? with Raji recusing himself for the year (might he come back next year?). Well, everything has gone to sh**. No pass rush, no turnovers, no hitting. Seems we try to lay people down gently. Lately, stupid penalties seem to be our MO. The thing that bothers me the most is our complete inability to stop teams at the end of Halves, whether the first or second half, teams just walk down the damn field like it's practice. All year this has been going on. McCarthy calls timeout with three min and the Redskins go right down the damn field.

Just want to stop a trend that I've noticed this morning. Capers is NOT innocent. His history in this league is early success and then he is figured out! Look it up. Quit blaming other people for his outdated and ineffective schemes. History and reality say otherwise. TW pointed out our blitzes seldom get home. We have inexperienced CBs, who are already iffy, left alone while we don't apply pressure on a blitz! What could go wrong?!?

MM is loyal to a fault, so I guess it would be his fault, but Capers will be gone for sure. Whether he is the sacrificial lamb or part of the whole cupboard getting cleaned out is the question.
 
The injuries have obviously devastated the roster. It was comical down the stretch last night, when it seemed like guys were dropping at every moment.

Rodgers was decent yesterday. Cook added the dimension this offense has been sorely lacking. But it had to be disheartening to drive the team down the field and score only to watch Cousins drop a bomb on the Packers secondary two plays later.

I have as sneaking suspicion these injuries are going to save McCarthy and company.
 
The blame is all over the organization but it starts at the top. I'm no longer sure who controls the roster and makes the decisions but these are the examples that l use for some questionable decisions.

1) CB. Hayward was allowed to walk. I get the reasoning but then you needed to react a bit to that situation. The problem at CB is two-fold for me. Yes, the injuries are a big part of the problem. The other part is that after Shields and Randall you have no speed in that group, NONE. Rollins was getting a lot of love here and elsewhere, and I have no problem with him, except, that draft sites seemed to point out that he'd be a nice guy playing inside but his lack of speed potentially becomes a problem outside. Gunter was even slower. They are essentially the same guy, as is Goodson. (Mind you, I was OK with this idea when it occurred, but in retrospect, I shouldn't have been and certainly TT/MM should not have been.) You basically kept the same player x 3. You needed to add speed but now are stuck defending with guys who are 4.6 types. OK inside, and in limited doses, but not OK as starters. Who decided that keeping 3 CBs with below average speed was a good idea?

2) ILB. The position that you know has to line up and take on blockers and runners up the middle and the decision was to only keep 3, with one of them being an undersized guy in Thomas. Predictably, when the injury occurred you were stuck with Thomas who is simply not stout enough to hold up inside as a starter. There were at least 2 long runs last night that I remember where he was just basically moved out of the play by a blocker. That did not seem like a sound decision in Sept and still doesn't.

In addition, last night you had a good ILB available, in CM3, but you didn't use him there. Maybe it was because he'd have not been able to cover TEs, but he'd have been a better option inside than Thomas on early downs. Another minor decision I question.

3) OL. Not going to even try to figure out how the Sitton thing got so messed up. NFL 101 says you shop him early enough to get a pick for him, or you keep him and get the Comp. They picked door #3 . . . give him away. Again, deciding to part with Sitton was not in itself a problem but how it was handled. Then to compound it, they decided that for depth, Don Barclay was the choice. Why? He has never been really good other that for a brief period playing RT. There should have been a better option if you were going to let Sitton go, and no, I don't think it would have been Tretter, not that he'd have even been an option early in the season with Linsley injured.

4) RB. Likely the most injury prone position in the NFL and the Packers decided to go with 2, one older, and one of whom has been slacking on his conditioning for years. A viable 3rd option should have been available. Of course when the predictable injuries show up, it becomes a scramble drill, especially since our offense is so complex that it takes 2-3 weeks before you can contribute in any meaningful way. Another questionable approach.

It seems like the desire to keep certain players outweighed the need for balance on the roster and the need for proper depth at as many positions as possible. It is just leading me to believe the time has come for new eyes and new minds to get a shot at building the team.
 
The Packers dominated Seattle for 55 minutes in the NFCCG just two years ago. Since then, MM has lost his touch in getting what he wants from the team, including Rodgers. I have always questioned his hiring practices for coaches. I think his give-away-take-away of play calling duties was handled poorly.

He has overhauled his ST coaching staff twice, and tweaked it two other times, but little has changed. He overhauled his defensive staff once, yet achieved little, of any improvement on the field. Consolidating QB and WR coach seemed odd, and he backed away quickly. Lately, his teams seem ill-prepared.

I think MM is the one at risk.
 
TW said:
I didn't say that was on McCarthy. I stated he was open. Of course it's on Rodgers to find the open guys. The one thing you are looking past though is who are the #1, #2, & #3 reads? You can't see the entire field at one time. Patience really has nothing to do with it, when it wasn't part of the primary routes. Time runs out real fast when both your starting guards aren't playing due to injury.
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But when you look back 2-3 years ago thsts the plays 12 made. He could feel the defense and anticipate. It's that missing thing called chemistry. Don't see it
 
A good QB can make three reads at best, in a normal play. To get those reads, the blocking has to be solid, and the routes crisp. He needs to know exactly where those three players should be, when he looks downfield. He doesn't have time to gauge where they're heading, he has to know where they're heading. The ball has to come out before they get to where the pass should be caught.

A lot of people think a QB needs to "lead" the receiver. That's true, but in some respects, it's a little more complicated than that. They effectively showed that in a pass to Cook last night. He hadn't even made his cut when Rodgers threw the ball, yet he was there, where the ball was, for the catch. In the Packer offense, these timing routes are more the case than the exception to the case.

So, why did our deep receivers appear open? Part of it was play design. The defense knew that with certain player packages, the Packers "do not" throw the ball deep, their reads are in short zones. If Rodgers is told that the long receivers are decoys, that's exactly what they are, in the scheme of the play. His job is to execute the play as designed. Period. When he breaks containment, and is scrambling, our receivers don't seem to understand the concept of working back to the QB. That's on the players, and the coaches. They need to work on this regularly.

No doubt about it, a few years back, there was what some people related as chemistry. I thought it was more a matter of players "knowing their jobs," and doing what's expected of them, on the field. That's the thing that's missing now with our receivers. They simply don't know how to work themselves open in their routes. So, who teaches them how to play their position? Coaches. Also, remember this. Even when they play zone, our receivers don't seem to understand what it means to move into seams in the zone, and sit down, and wait for the ball. They have to stop! Continuing to move sends you back into coverage.
 
GBP4EVER said:
If they finish 8-8 or 9-7 that will be awful means team ends up with a draft pick in the 15-20 range meaning you are still missing out on the top talent. I would rather see at most only one more win and finish 4-12 or 5-11 that way you will be picking 5-10 range and get a shot at a impact player.
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Yes, if the season is toast it would be nice to get a real impact player in this next draft. sh))
 
My problem is that you say "a" real impact player. Given the state of this team, I'll give you a stud at the position of your choice and that ask you if you figure that's enough to get them anywhere near back on track. IF a whole lot scenarios work out, things could be brighter, but that would entail a stud at RB as Lacy decides to get his head back in the game, Shields' medical condition is somehow deemed OK and we have a cover corner again, Matthews stays on the field and reverts to his old self, et. al. And that's just the players - we can see what folks think of the coaching staff. I'm thinking of going with "3/4 empty" until I see a whole lot of changes.
 
Anyone expecting any changes this season scheme or play calling wise...don't

From MM
"There's no reinventing the wheel," McCarthy said. "We've talked about this since the day I arrived here. We have a system of football -- offense, defense and special teams -- that accommodates any football player on our roster. If we've got to reinvent the wheel in Week 11 or Week 12, we haven't set our plan the right way for the season."
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