One big play gets Ravens going. One big strip costs the Packers. Matt Bowen
Before we move on to the divisional playoff action, let’s take a look at Sunday’s wild card games in the NFL — a shocker in New England and a shootout in the desert.
Click here to check out my notes from the Jets and Cowboys wins on Saturday.
AFC Wild Card
Ravens 33, Patriots 14
Starting off with a big play
One play. You hate to judge playoff games by one play over the course of four quarters, but when it’s the first play from scrimmage — and it goes for an 83-yard TD — it has to be brought up. Almost as an indication of how this day would play out for the Pats defense, the Ravens ran your basic power play with counter action in the backfield, and Rice hit the second level of the defense at top speed. As a defensive back, this is the last thing you want to see, but instead of closing the space between himself and the ball carrier, Pats FS Brandon Meriweather broke down and allowed Rice to make a cut — and he was gone. Meriweather has to take a shot on that play and get him on the ground. You can’t start a game like that in the post season.
The Ravens’ game plan
You could tell the lack of respect the Ravens had for the Patriots’ defensive front seven by their game plan on offense. Baltimore ran the ball 52 times for 234 yards. But it was the way they did it — with the basic power game — that made it so impressive. This wasn’t a gimmick attack; instead, it was the Power O, the Lead Iso (strong and weak) and the one-back zone runs that hit the edge and allow the ball carrier to make one cut and get up field. Nothing sexy by any means, but when you have control of the offensive line, the basic running package leads to production and allows you to control the flow of the game. I haven’t seen a Bill Belichick-coached team get whipped like that up front in a long time.
The loss of Welker
I liked how Julian Edelman filled in for the inured Wes Welker yesterday — especially in the red zone. He was able to run the same option routes working inside the slot that we usually see from Welker and produced two TD catches. However, where Welker was missed came on third downs — New England was 3 of 12 on the day. That’s where we would expect to see Welker win his one-on-one matchups against a nickel corner.
The Ravens’ defensive scheme
The Ravens has a nice mix of pressure and coverage that they threw at the Patriots. Man pressure, zone pressure and 3-man rushes that allowed them to drop eight into coverage and force Pats QB Tom Brady to throw the ball underneath — where they could rally, make a tackle and get off the field. But it was the pressure schemes that allowed this defense to get to Brady and make him throw with people in his face.
Brady’s day
Not the game I expected to see from Brady. Randy Moss was a non-factor, the early hole the Pats fell into took away the running game and didn’t allow them to establish any sort of rhythm on offense, and Brady never looked comfortable in the pocket. However, what was most surprising was the way Brady started to force the ball in the second half. The third-quarter INT, when he tried to hit TE Ben Watson on a 7-route, is a throw only young QBs make. But we see that even from the best players in the league when the game plan has to be scrapped because a team is behind and is forced to try and make a play.
Ray Rice/Willis McGahee
Baltimore hasn’t something going with these two. Both have big-play ability and both can run with power and get to the second level with quickness. With the way they come off the ball on the offensive line, don’t expect Baltimore to change the game plan from an offensive perspective when it heads to Indy this weekend. You can ride running backs like this for a while in January.
NFC Wild Card
Cardinals 51, Packers 45 (OT)
The early turnovers
Turnovers are killers in the postseason, and what happened Sunday in Arizona to the Packers disrupted their game plan until the second quarter. You prepare all week and script what you want to do from an offensive perspective, but when you turn the ball over on your first two series, you begin to scramble. It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Packers could settle down and incorporate the running game and the rest of their offense into the play calling. Horrible start.
Warner and Rodgers
We got to see two of the NFL’s elite play at QB — and they are so different in their style of play.
Warner is a rhythm quarterback. He works within the offense and doesn’t do much with his feet. He takes his drop, sets and throws. But when he has time, there aren’t many QBs who can stand up with him when it comes to production and accuracy. The Cardinals completely dominated Green Bay with routes that require Warner to make a quick read and unload the ball — almost as if he were throwing to a hot receiver. Very easy to do against man-to-man teams such as the Packers, who play with outside leverage. Run inside breaking routes and Warner will put it there every time.
With Rodgers, it’s just the opposite. He is so good at making plays with his feet. Whether it’s stepping up in the pocket, sliding past the rush or throwing the ball on the run, he can be counted on for production The Packers used a lot of empty sets and various route combinations to get receivers open on the boundary or down the middle of the field. And Rodgers didn’t miss much. If there was one play he would want back, it would have to be the double move to Greg Jennings that he missed in OT. Jennings set up and ran by Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle. If Rodgers hits that, Green Bay is still alive in the dance.
The Cardinals’ balance
Even though Warner threw for five TDs, we have to realize that the Cardinals did have balance on offense. Warner threw the ball 33 times and the Cards ran the ball 23 times — the exact game plan that put them on that Super Bowl run last season. And with Beanie Wells at RB, this team has something moving on to New Orleans. As we talked about above, as good as Warner is in the pocket, when they abandon the running game, opposing defenses will turn up the heat from a pressure standpoint. But when they get production from Wells and Tom Hightower, this offense is really tough to beat.
Missed adjustment by Capers?
As I wrote about with Warner, the Cardinals were doing the same thing we saw from Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers in December when they tore up the Packers’ secondary. Rub routes, combination routes out of the bunch and stack alignments and, most of all, routes that break inside — back to the quarterback — away from the defenders’ leverage. If I’m Dom Capers, I start playing some Cover 1 Robber — where the defense drops a linebacker to a depth of 10 yards between the hashes. What this does is allow defenders to run those underneath crossers that the Cardinals were producing on to a “rover” who can force the ball to go elsewhere. It looked too easy against a man-to man scheme with a deep middle of the field safety as the only help. Charles Woodson and the Packers secondary looked outmatched.
Using Jermichael Finley
I wrote about the Green Bay TE on Saturday because I like that he has the talent and versatility as an athlete to line up all over the field — and that’s exactly what Green Bay does with him. We saw Finley with his hand in the ground, in the slot and matched up on the outside with a corner. Big day because he was able to win matchups using his speed and size when he was aligned outside of the formation as a wide receiver. He’s a ballplayer, and he’s so versatile when it comes to the Packers’ offensive schemes: six receptions for 159 yards.
The strip…and score
The play that won the game for the Cardinals was your basic nickel man pressure. But I still think Rodgers could have recognized the pressure and gotten rid of the football. Arizona blitzed nickel back Mike Adams off the slot, with the strong safety dropping down into coverage to replace him. The Packers, who had four receivers aligned away from the formation, motioned the RB weak to create an empty set — leaving five to block the Cards’ five rushers. For Rogers, you know pressure is coming when you see the safety walk down before the snap and with five receivers out; you have to unload the football. A tough way to end an impressive game for Rodgers, but still a mistake that gets you beat in the postseason.
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For another look at the Cards-Packers, check out this story from Bleacher Report.
Why, specifically, could they not have called the "Tuck Rule" on Rodgers end of game fumble? Because it never hit the ground?
no excuses; AR needs to hit that pass and game over. Numerous missed calls by the officials but that's life. When you have the opportunity you have to grab it. Each time whiffed once; Zona with the missed FG, Pack as stated above.
Great games. I think after the first half the Patriots/Ravens game was anti-climatic. The second game was looking that way, but I have to give credit to Rodgers and the Pack for coming back. I am now waiting to hear all of the excuses the Pack fans can come up with. If it wasn't for a missed easy chip shot, then there would have been no over time.
Matt,
As a former D-Back, what are your thoughts on the two missed OPI calls on Fitzgerald's TD catches? This in the light of Moss getting called for it earlier in the day in New England.
Remember how Tom Brady said he didn't mind all the protection the QB gets? It's because penalties are just another thing to help you get down the field. Note how Warner was campaigning the refs about getting hit in the facemask at least a couple times in the game. He made his point, the refs started watching, and he got a cheapie when Jenkins was blocked into him. Just a thought, but maybe if Rodgers had also been working the refs, maybe one of the two hits he took to the helmet in OT would've been called.
Point is not to whine about calls, I hate that. Point is, there's the difference between a savvy veteran QB and one who's still learning the ropes. Every little bit of advantage counts.
Steve, the Tuck Rule results in an incomplete pass, so yes, because the ball never hit the ground it isn't a Tuck. Most likely will be recorded as an interception.
Jon,
That was my guess, but it wasn't recorded as an INT. It was recorded as a fumble return (and I've seen that in a number of games this year).
I didn't know if there was also a determination on if the defender was able to hit the actual ball and cause the fumble, but I don't see anything in the actual "Tuck Rule" about that.
I think it would have been interesting to see if the officials had the stones to call it an incomplete pass if it would have hit the ground before Dansby picked it up
The Green Bay defense could not stop Warner. When Green Bay tied the game with around 2 minutes or so left, I thought they maybe should go for two since I was pretty sure Arizona would score again. (Turns out they didnt, until the OT.)
Would it have been that crazy for Green Bay to go for two on their last score since their defense was horrible all game?
Great game! Sucks Packers lost but some good things.
The offense scored 45 points. Rodgers and Finley set team records along the way. No way you can pin the loss on them. Did they play flawless? Heck no, and it was ugly at times. But 45 points should win you a game.
This one is on the defense. They were out coached and outplayed. Consistent mis-matches and missed tackles were more to blame. Capers just got his coaching rear handed to him.
@Packer Pete -
Full disclosure - I don't have a horse in this race this year (Bears fan) but Packer fans really need to get over their hatred towards Favre. Comparing Rogers to Favre is just stupid because neither quarterbacks ever worked with exactly the same personnel, against the exact same teams, with the same coaching, yada, yada ... and therefore a perfect straight up comparison between the two quarterbacks is impossible - only pure conjecture on your part. Rogers is very good. Favre is very good. You don't need to keep ripping on Favre to bolster your opinion that it was better for GB to move on with Rogers. Let it go already. You sound petty and insecure. God forbid a third game between the Vikings and the Packers had been played in this year's playoffs - the entire state of Wisconsin would have been on the psychiatric couch had the Vikings won again - that's how much Favre is obviously in the heads of most Packer fans. Two quick observations from a Bears fan who loathes Favre because he beat us so often but also respects his abilities. First, it's interesting reading the comments this morning from the Green Bay fans in various press outlets (Green Bay Press Gazette, Milwaukee Journal, ESPN). The Packer fans are disappointed but are not pinning this loss on Rogers whereas if it had been Favre with the opening pick and the OT fumble/int which cost the Pack two TD's and the game, then Favre would be getting hammered. I'm not saying this loss should be pinned on Rogers but I am saying the Packer fans would have pinned it on Favre had he been the quarterback. If you disagree then you are not being honest with yourself. The other observation is really more a memory of back to 1997 when Favre hit the go route to Jennings to beat Denver on the first play of OT on Monday Night football whereas Rogers overthrew Jennings on the same play. Packer fans continue to rip on Favre but your memories are so short - you don't appreciate what he did for your team. Yeah it was time for him to go but show some class and let it go already. Go Bears!!
Heartbreaking loss if you are a GB fan.
I know it's a reg season award, but this weekend showed definitively Revis should be DPOY over Woodson. Revis is the best the player on the league's best D, and it's a 3-4 playing without it's NT, so the secondary has to hold their coverages longer.
ESPN had a stat showing the Jets lead the league by far in receiving yards by opposing team's #1 WRs with 29. Pac had around 50. And this weekend of course Revis shut down 85 AGAIN (2 for 28) while I saw Woodson getting trucked by Fitzgerald.
Did anyone see McCarthy's press conference after the game? The dude seriously looked like he just got done crying...can't say I blame him though. That was a tough, tough game to lose. If firing the entire defensive staff at the end of last season brings you this...45 of 51 points scored on you in a playoff loss. Wow.
Rodgers press conference also bothered me a little bit, but for a different reason. He said all the right things for the most part, but it seemed like he kept passing around the blame. Of course he threw the defense under the bus (which not sure if I can blame him), something about 'we scored 45 points, but apparently we needed to score more.' And on his opening play interception, 'there was miscommunication with the tight end route, they both ran the same route' ...alluding that Donald Lee screwed up. Of course he followed that up with how he made a bad decision. He then went on to make more hints about his offensive line and protections ('wish i had a tad more time on the OT throw to Jennings' that he missed), as well.
Look, that was a tough loss, and Rodgers is a good player, heading towards great. But he's not in Peyton's caliber quite yet, where he can throw his entire offensive line under the bus and still be respected. He should tread a bit more carefully next time.
Dan M-
Fitz did get away with some physical play on Woodson, no doubt, But, the officials let everyone play yesterday and Woodson did get away with some physical play as well on his end.
I think the call could have been made, but when refs let the action go on in the secondary, that is the usual result.
As a fan of the Bear, I will admit that I was pulling for Rodgers and the Pack. Tough loss.
But, how about the Pats and Brady? They were pushed around all over the field. I think that team looked old and they will be passed by Miami and the Jets next season. The run is over for Brady and Belichick .
@Packer Pete
The "can't win in the fourth quarter" thing was overblown last year, and I think most people have seen enough this season from Rodgers to realize that it's not an issue. The late-game issues that need to be addressed - and this is probably more a coaching problem than anything you could pin on Rodgers - is the offense scoring a tying/go-ahead TD with just enough time left for the other team to take the lead back. When Rodgers hit Havner yesterday to tie it with just under 2 min left, none of the Packer fans I was watching with were happy. We all knew the Cardinals would march down and score - only they missed the FG. Similar to Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. When the D isn't stopping anyone, or when they go against top QBs, the Packers need the ability, or maybe just the willingness, to slow down.
@jason
You're right, there are lots of irrational comments on Packers message boards, especially where Brett is concerned. But even the most petty, small minded fans can't seriously look at a game that ended up 51-45 and point to the losing QB as the #1 problem, regardless of the name on the jersey.
I really don't think GB fans have a beef about the officiating. I thought the refs blew several calls, but if anything they seemed to favor GB. There were a number of interference and defensive holding calls that could have been ignored or gone the other way.
It looked to me like Rodgers actually hit the ball with his foot in OT. It was almost like a soccer kick. If he didn't hit it, the ball hits the ground. Maybe they should call the TD a punt return. LOL.
Matt,
I commented on your column on Friday regarding use of Woodson that GB DEF had to do 2 things, stop the run and knock down Warner early to take him out of his rhythm. They did neither and were toasted for 500+ yards and 45 of the 51 points.
That being said, people need to remember that the GB secondary was decimated with injuries this year. After Bigby went out in Q2, GB was playing without 1 starting CB (Al Harris), 1 starting S (Bigby), their 2nd string CBs (Will Blackmon and Pat Lee) and S (Derrick Martin).
So what you had in the GB secondary was 2 starters (Woodson and Collins) and a bunch of 3rd and 4th stringers, some signed off the street in the last 4 weeks. No NFL team can go that deep in the secondary and play against a QB like Warner, even without Boldin.
What you saw Sunday was alot of blown coverages and miscommunication leading to easy chunks of yardage and TDs for AZ. GB should feel good that the list of injured players above will return next year and make an instant impact on their secondary.
The other upside for GB is what Rodgers and the GB OFF did against the 1st and 2nd string secondary of AZ.
Meateater,
thats ridiculous. Karlos Dansby even said after the game the refs gave them some breaks. all those calls on Mike Adams were as obvious as they come. Jenkins got blocked into Warner and got roughing, Rodgers got hit in the face twice in OT and no call. And I dont remember any Packer recieves running over a db before making a wide open td catch.
having said that the Packers also missed a fieldgoal, had 2 legit turnover, and missed a wide open game winning td in ot. as a Packer fan their are way too many what if's about this game. just once I would like the Packers to lose in the playoffs by just getting beat by a better team. The Falcons game is about the only one since '95(maybe the Rame but 32a HOF qb throwing 6 ints, come on)
Missing the deep ball to Jennings in overtime - well OK, but isn't that a low-percentage play call that puts you in a hole if it fails? Why take that chance when the offense has been ripping off chunks at will? Winning the coin flip should have won the game. I wondered if they would go back to running Grant in OT, since he was ripping off chunks as well - they chose not to.
Still, hard to fault the offense for this one. And I probably wouldn't have had the guts to call the onsides kick, which was obviously the right call at that point - even if had failed. The defensive coach or players must take the blame for this loss. Ultimately, the Cardinal's offensive line outplayed the Packers offensive line - by a lot. Ironic Packers get beat on a play with weaknesses exposed so many months ago. Still, running out of time in the first half - with an unused timeout - is inexcusable.
Hey Jerry?
What press conference were you listening to? Go back to the Packer site or iTunes and listen again. In no way did he complain about the defense. This guy makes big plays and he made a ton of them on Sunday, just not as many as Warner did.
The common denominator with games against Warner and Favre were the large offensive lines giving those two QB's great protection to pick apart the secondary. The Packers need one guy who needs to be double teamed on most plays to release the other rushers (not Kampmann). Maybe Raji develops that way, but a nasty DE would be better.The defensive predicament was set on the first drive following the early pick. Couldn't pressure and played so far off the receivers it was easy (similar to both Viking games). I never bought in to the hype that the Packers were a really good defense. They had the stats but when they really needed to stop a good QB/O-line combo - they couldn't
Rogers manned up and took responsibility for his errors. He made them and overcame all but the last one. If Rackers makes his FG, the point is moot. The Packers punched above their weight the last half of the season as far as the O-line is considered. Getting Tauscher back was a blessing but there were still struggles. They just are not that talented
Next year will be interesting but if Thompson does not upgrade his line quality, they won't seriously improve
@Michael1970 - Reveis is a fabulous player, a true shut down corner. But he's a one trick pony, whereas Woodson is a complete DEF player.
Woodson has more INT's, INT return yardage, Tackles, Sacks, INT TD's, and Forced Fumbles.
Reveis is a great player, but face it, Woodson is better.
I am just going to say it.
Packers - Cardinals.
If Favre was quarterback and it started 14-0 like it did, I could see him throwing 5 more picks in a blow out. Rodgers brought them back and gave them a chance.
@jason - I agree, a lot of Packers fans have hatred for Favre. An equal share of fans have shown unbridled love for Favre also, though, even when he screwed up. so it goes both ways. I also think had he played yesterday the way Rodgers played and lost the same way, nobody would have blamed him. Not even the worst critic. It was a game where both offenses showed what they could do, and defenses didn't do anything. Therefore, neither team really had or has a chance to win the SB. Arizona will go meet teams that can play defense and then their run will be over. What yesterday exposed really was Dom Capers. He is not very good adjusting to passing offenses. The only real pass rushing threat is Matthews. Nobody else. And the problem is, with as many injuries in the secondary as this year, that team cannot sit back and hope to stop a good passing team with the likes of Bush, Bell, Giordano, and Underwood. I do have a word about Favre also. I am a critic, and have been for a long time. I do think the guy gets way too much credit. Have you ever noticed he gets all the credit for supposedly developing the receivers, being more of a coach than 'Chilly', and in general being the difference between an apparently mediocre team and a SB contender? Yet at the same time, I heard repeatedly that the Vikings have the best RB in the NFL (I disagree), one of the best OL, and one of the best defenses. So how come that they only finished 12-4, just 2 games better than last year, with this best of all QBs? I do think that Favre was and is an exciting player, but at the same time, he is not even close to Manning or Montana in ability to lead a team and win. He always kept both teams playing in the game, and lost quite a few games for the Packers, besides winning many. Just my 10 cents.
@AndyWI
Note so fast my friend - Revis can do everything Woodson can do but Woodson can't cover like Revis. Revis does what Rex needs from him to make their defense work- cover the top receiver and take away his side of the field. If Revis was sent on blitzes (Rex sends his safetys most of the time), he could generate the same stats.
But here's one you missed - Revis leads in PD.
Jason,
In response to the second half of your post, I would recommend referring to the first half. You're comparing apples and oranges. Yes, many Packers fans blamed Favre for play-off losses in games where he generally played very poorly. Can you show us an example of GB losing a play-off game with Favre where he gained 435 total yards, scored 5 TDs but turned it over twice with the defense allowing a lot of scores and Packer Nation blamed Favre? Good luck finding that - in his entire career, regardless of year, he's never scored five times in a post-season game and he's never thrown for more than 400yds in a post season game.
The 2 turnovers are an entirely different matter.... a lot of "observers" need to let go of the Favre thing as much as many GB fans do. Personally, I'm happy for both. Brett's having arguably the best year of his entire career this year. Like him or not, he's good for the game.
Jason,
Please don't post until your team gets its head out of the toilet.
Sincerely,
Everyone
Jason, if you read my post again, you'll note that I don't make any negative comments about Favre. I'm tired of the crap Rodgers takes about not bringing the team back in the fourth quarter when he did it several times last year only to have the defense and special teams collapse, and I'm pointing out that Rodgers had at least two fourth quarter performances this season (Steelers and Cardinals) that eclipsed anything Favre did, but the defense again failed to hold. What's negative towards Favre in that? I just don't want to hear the absolute Favre Is Jesus crowd pointing out what a failure Rodgers is.
I loved watching Favre play for the Packers for 16 years. I also think Ted and Mike made the right decision to go with a younger QB who'll be a Pro Bowl level starter for the next ten years. Had Favre signed with anyone but the Vikings, I'd wish him well. If JC himself was quarterbacking the Vikings, I'd root against him, too.
Aaron Rodger didn't lose the game last night it was the defense and Dom Capers. It seem Capers doesn't blitz enough on a national game it happen against both game Vs Vikings, Steelers And Cardinals and the defense get torch period. Did I mention that the ref blew 2 no call on roughin the passer, 1st the hit on Rodgers helmet to helmet no call then on the last play on the fumble, were was the facemask. I bet that if it was peyton or brady they would call that. All I know is that A-rod is the future and he going 2 get better, can wait for next year cause the packers going to be one of toughest team to beat. I which the packer will go after Joshua Cribbs cuase we don't have any good punt or kick returner and he will make the different on good starting position.
the cards showed that same nickle blitz look a few times and dropped completely out of it at the snap....just right call set up right. if the packers do not turn the ball over twice in their first couple plays, they win that game, maybe even scoring 60 points. rodgers missed jennings on not one, but two TD passes....
Packer fans are sure a touchy bunch.
"The Packer fans are disappointed but are not pinning this loss on Rogers whereas if it had been Favre with the opening pick and the OT fumble/int which cost the Pack two TD's and the game, then Favre would be getting hammered. I'm not saying this loss should be pinned on Rogers but I am saying the Packer fans would have pinned it on Favre had he been the quarterback. If you disagree then you are not being honest with yourself."
Actually I do disagree and I think I am being honest with myself.
Had Favre done that his second year starting while also playing great for much of the game I think he would be getting the same pass.
He got crucified for the stupid, stupid throws in 2004 and 2007 that sent the Packers home because at that point he'd been playing for more than a decade, had won 3 MVPs, and yet tossed those games away with throws that made him look like a rookie.
Heck, Favre's 2nd year starting wasn't that great (Rodgers second year starting was light years better) but though there was some doubt at the time the fans who wanted him benched where a distinct minority.
"I know it's a reg season award, but this weekend showed definitively Revis should be DPOY over Woodson. Revis is the best the player on the league's best D, and it's a 3-4 playing without it's NT, so the secondary has to hold their coverages longer."
Yeah, because Ochocinco is on the same level as Fitzgerald and Palmer is as good as Warner.
Or not.
Woodson played fine. That forced fumble in the first half kept the Packers in the game, and it looked like Fitz pushed off on both of his TDs.
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Jan 11, 2010
07:37 AM
Tough to watch the secondary play on television, but it certainly looked that numerous times when the Cardinals lined up in bunched sets, two Packer defenders would follow the same receiver, leaving the other Cardinal receiver wide open. Lack of a pass rush hurt Green Bay also. Matthews became a one-trick pony, rushing from the same spot using the same dip move play after play. Jones got no pressure and the tackles got no push.
Top quarterbacks killed the Pack this year, Favre twice, Rothliesberger and Warner. In all four of these games, the Packers killed themselves by falling far behind in each before rallying.
I think my head will explode when I read the first guy who posts how Rodgers can't win in the fourth quarter. Favre's biggest comeback in his career was this season, 14 points against the Bears in an OT loss. Rodgers hung 21 on the Steelers in the fourth quarter, made up 21 points against the Cardinals yesterday. If he hits Jennings on the first play in OT.......
When's draft day? Let's get next year started!