Friday, November 22, 2024
RIP—The 49ers' Tommy Hart
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
The Rams' Dan Towler Had a Relatively Short Career, But Was It Was Worthy of Hall-of-Fame Attention.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Perhaps There Should Be a Place in Canton for 'Tank' Younger
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Breaking Down Green Bay's Win in Chicago
By Eric Goska
Receiver Christian Watson was the only Packer to convert a third-down in Chicago. (photos by Eric Goska) |
Who needs third down?
Not the Packers who might be better off without it.
In squeaking past Chicago 20-19 at Soldier Field, Green Bay mounted
three touchdown drives without once bumping up against third down. That the
team failed to score on any advance when it did only served to highlight its
continuing struggles when the down marker hits three.
Credit the Packers for all but avoiding third down. They got
there just five times as Jordan Love and Co. made hay on early downs.
Green Bay gained 191 yards on 23 first-down plays (8.3
average). It produced 148 yards on 14 second-down snaps (10.6).
First and second were all the Packers required as they rolled
to scores on advances of 70, 70 and 78 yards. Eighteen plays produced 213
yards, 11 first downs and TDs by Jayden Reed, Josh Jacobs and Love.
On those possessions, second down functioned as a surrogate third
down. Green Bay went 6-for-6 in those instances, gaining 119 yards when 35 was
needed.
If only the real third down could be dealt with as expeditiously. Sustained success there might eliminate the need for a Karl Brooks to block to Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired in order to win.
Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos' last-second field goal attempt which allowed Green Bay to win its 11th straight against the Bears. |
In Chicago, the Packers gained all of 22 yards on five
third-down plays. They earned a first down just once, that on a 17-yard pass
from Love to Christian Watson in the second quarter.
Watson’s conversion kept alive an advance that was Green Bay’s
longest in terms of plays run (12). But the drive ended on third down when cornerback
Terell Smith waylaid a pass intended for Tucker Kraft near the Bears’ end zone.
Talk about a momentum shift. Rookie Caleb Williams then
directed a 13-play, 76-yard TD march that put Chicago up 10-7 at the half.
Love’s interception underscored Green Bay’s difficulty on
third down, particularly in the passing game. The second-year starter’s numbers
are down this season, with one metric having fallen so low it should give the
coaching staff pause.
To date, Love has completed 27 of 59 passes (45.8
percent) for 311 yards, six TDs and four interceptions on third down. His passer
rating (67.8) is the lowest on that down by a Packers quarterback (minimum 50
attempts) since Brett Hundley’s 62.8 in 2017.
Since 1992, just two Packers quarterbacks have finished with
a rating below 70: Hundley and Brett Favre (68.0) in 1999. Green Bay finished
7-9 in 2017 and 8-8 in 1999.
More disconcerting is Love’s inability to produce first
downs. Just 15 of his 59 throws (25.4 percent) have moved the chains.
That rate is the third lowest by a Packers passer over the
last 70 years. Only David Whitehurst (18.3) in 1978 and Randy Wright (24.6) in
1987 have been lower since 1954 (minimum 50 attempts).
Love can improve. He did in 2023.
In starting out 3-6 last season, Love compiled a third-down
passer rating of 83.7. He completed 52 of 90 passes for 602 yards, four TDs and
four interceptions. Thirty-eight of his 90 passes (42.2 percent) resulted in
first downs.
In finishing 6-2, Love compiled a third-down passer rating
of 122.2. He completed 45 of 72 passes for 491 yards, 10 TDs and nary an
interception. Thirty-eight of his 72 attempts (52.7 percent) brought first
downs.
Love’s lack of production has meant the Packers have gone
seven straight games with fewer than 50 yards passing on third down. It is the
team’s longest such streak in at least a dozen years.
Only twice this season has Love converted more than two
third downs into firsts with his passing. He came up with four in a 34-13 win
over the Cardinals and three in a 24-22 victory over the Texans.
Since 1954, Packers whose third-down throws produced the fewest first downs on a percentage basis. (minimum 50 attempts)
Rate Passer Year Attempts-FDs
18.3 David Whitehurst 1978 93-17
24.6 Randy Wright 1987 69-17
25.4 Jordan Love 2024 59-15
25.7 John Hadl 1975 113-29
25.7 Lynn Dickey 1977 74-19
27.5 Anthony Dilweg 1990 51-14
28.4 Scott Hunter 1972 74-21
29.3 Tobin Rote 1955 92-27
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Russell Wilson is Back—Could This Be A Step Forward to a Gold Jacket?
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Notes on a Scorecard"
Matt Eberflus |
Johnny Unitas |
Friday, November 8, 2024
Book Review: Free Spirit at Free Safety: The Incredible (but True!) Football Journey of Bill Bradley
Midseason All-Pro Team
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
State Your Case: Does Lester Hayes Have What 'It' Takes to Reach Canton?
Monday, November 4, 2024
Packers Gain Yards, Not Victory, Against Lions
By Eric Goska
Jordan Love was in attendance at Lambeau Field Sunday. (photos by Eric Goska) |
Come away with 400 yards and the Packers had always been golden
against the Lions at Lambeau Field.
Alas, like any streak, this one was bound to end.
Detroit – a team that plays its home games in a dome – had little
trouble adjusting to the elements Sunday. The Lions shrugged off the wind and rain
to dispatch Green Bay 24-14 in a much anticipated battle for supremacy in the
NFC North Division.
Had the outcome been determined by the stat sheet, Green Bay
would have won. The Packers produced more first downs (20 to 17) and manufactured
more yards (411 to 261) en route to engineering a more robust average gain per
offensive play (6.6 to 4.7).
Josh Jacobs led all runners with 95 yards rushing, 22 better
than Detroit’s David Montgomery. Jayden Reed paced all receivers with 113
yards, more than double the output of the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown.
But, like empty calories, the Green and Gold’s
abundance provided little nutritional value. Besting the Lions in a
host of statistical categories did little to effect the scoreboard.
Coach Matt LaFleur’s outfit can’t even brag about having outgained Detroit by 150 yards. The Titans (+191) did so by a wider margin (on Oct. 27) and lost 52-14.
Where it mattered most, Green Bay floundered. It had twice
as many penalties (10 to 5), far more dropped passes (6 to zero by one count)
and three botched snaps.
And while Jordan Love passed for more yards (273) than his counterpart Jared Goff (145), he also threw an inexcusable
pick-six just before the half to put the Lions up 17-3 at the break.
Yards gained can get a team only so far.
Years ago, gaining 400 or more yards was usually followed by
a win. Green Bay went 16-0-1 in such games from 1923 to 1945.
Even this century, getting to 400 often pays dividends. Since
2000, the Packers are 88-28-1 when doing so.
Green Bay has attained 400 yards a total of 233 times during
the regular season since 1923, going 175-55-3 in those games. It struck for the first time against the Racine Tornadoes in 1926. It struck most often against – you guessed
it – the Detroit Lions.
The Motor City Eleven have often served as a punching bag for
the Packers. Sunday was the 40th time Green Bay nicked the Lions for 400 or
more yards in the regular season. The team is 32-8 when doing so.
And while the Packers could get there and still lose when playing in Detroit, hitting the benchmark at Lambeau Field had always come coupled with victory. From 407 yards in a game in November 1964 to 488 yards in an early-season matchup in 2020, Green Bay had gone 12-0 against the Lions in the stadium named for its first head coach.
(L-R): Marques Eversoll, Bill Rabeor and Chris Havel. |
Green Bay hadn’t been perfect against the Bears (9-2). It hadn’t been without blemish against the Vikings
(5-3-1).
But against the Lions, it had been spot on.
Over a 32-year span from 1992 – the season Green Bay again
began to win with regularity – through last season, the Packers gained more
yards and scored more points against the Lions than they did against any other
team. While the differences between what they inflicted on the Bears and
Vikings were small, one fact remained: Detroit was on the bottom.
Not anymore. As the division-leading Lions (7-1) have
shown, they can win when outgained. LeFleur and his Packers (6-3) had better marry
points to yards when the two teams tangle on the first Thursday in
December.
Green Bay’s regular-season record (73-15-1) when it gains 400-plus yards at Lambeau Field.
Record Team Streak
12-1 Lions Lost 1
9-2 Bears Won 6
6-0 Cowboys Won 6
5-1 Eagles Won 1
5-3-1 Vikings Lost 1
4-0 Buccaneers Won 4
4-0 49ers Won 4
Rest of the league: Falcons (3-1); Raiders (3-0), Cardinals (3-0); Titans (2-1); Giants (2-0), Rams (2-0), Patriots (2-0), Redskins (2-0), Saints (2-0); Chargers (1-1), Chiefs (1-1), Colts (1-1); Bengals (1-0), Bills (1-0), Broncos (1-0), Seahawks (1-0); Browns (0-1), Jaguars (0-1) and Panthers (0-1).