Green Bay Packers vs. New Orleans Saints: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
Well, that didn't go as planned.
Green Bay (5-3) leaves New Orleans (3-4) bruised, burned and beaten after a 44-23 smackdown at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in front of a nationwide audience on Sunday Night Football.
Aaron Rodgers tweaked his hamstring on a scramble early in the third quarter, and it was all downhill from there. Green Bay settled for a field goal, and New Orleans scored touchdowns on four of its first five second-half possessions.
The defense couldn't do anything to stop Drew Brees and Mark Ingram. Brees went over 300 yards for the sixth straight time against Green Bay, and Ingram set a career high with 172 rushing yards.
Eddie Lacy's eight catches led the team and showed he's more than just a downhill runner. Randall Cobb was excellent again. But aside from that, not too many positive takeaways from this one. Thankfully Green Bay has a week off to heal up the physical and emotional wounds.
On to the grades.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Aaron Rodgers' first 231 pass attempts of the 2014 season: one interception.
Aaron Rodgers' subsequent 11 passes: two interceptions.
The one thing all those interceptions have in common? I can't blame any of them on the quarterback. ESPN's Dan LeBatard puts it nicely:
"Aaron Rodgers has three interceptions this year. Two hit his receivers in the hands. One hit his tight end in the face.
— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) October 27, 2014"
Rodgers didn't play his best, but he was far from his worst. He set a season-best record with 418 passing yards and completed nearly 72 percent of his passes. His throw to Cobb off play action near the end of the first quarter was the quickest release I've ever seen, from any quarterback.
But, he was hampered in the second half with a hamstring, and it took away the play action and movement game that Rodgers does so well.
Matt Flynn came in for garbage time and fumbled on his second snap.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
I knew Eddie Lacy had decent receiving skills, but I don't think anybody saw this coming.
Lacy's eight catches and 182 all-purpose yards (123 receiving, 59 rushing) were both career highs. He ran with both patience and anger, attacking holes at times and others waiting to allow holes to develop. The Green Bay Packers shared Rodgers comment regarding Eddie Lacey's performance:
"Rodgers on Eddie Lacy: He made a big impact in the passing game. #GBvsNO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 27, 2014"
It was a homecoming of sorts for the second-year back, born in Gretna, Louisiana, just a stone's throw from the Superdome. Lacy said (via al.com's Mark Inabinett) that he'd like to have "one of the biggest games of my life," and he made good on his promise.
Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort.
James Starks was just a couple of carries and one target. DuJuan Harris played mop-up duty.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
When Randall Cobb raced for a 70-yard catch-and-run score on the game's fifth play, this game had all the makings of a classic Packers shootout.
But, some miscues by the Packers' receiving corps following Cobb's big play were detrimental to the team's chances at victory.
Just a few plays after Rodgers tweaked his hammy, Green Bay had 3rd-and-goal at New Orleans' 5-yard line. The defense forced a stop on the opening drive of the second half, and the Pack looked poised to take the lead. Rodgers fired a slant to Andrew Quarless, but Q let the ball get into his body, and it was tipped by a New Orleans defender and eventually intercepted.
Two drives later, Rodgers was intercepted again when Davante Adams stopped short on his route and tipped the ball in the air. Cris Collinsworth said on air that Adams misread the coverage and was supposed to continue toward the middle of the field. Mike Clemens of SiriusXM Radio NFL highlighted the concerning play involving Rodgers and Adams:
"Replay shows Davante Adams stopped on route in man coverage, why Rodgers off target.
— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) October 27, 2014"
Rodgers took the blame for it postgame, but he's likely just covering for the rookie wideout.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Another off night from Packers' front five.
Starting right guard T.J. Lang was carted off the field after going down with an ankle injury on Green Bay's first possession, and second-year pro Lane Taylor filled in as Lang's replacement.
Taylor blew a key block on a 4th-and-1 attempt in the third quarter that proved costly. If the Pack get the first down, they've got a chance to tie the game up at 23-all. Instead, New Orleans takes over on downs and scores a touchdown four plays later, putting the game effectively out of reach. Todd McMahon of Green Bay Press-Gazette Media believed the Packers' "wished" for Lang on that play:
"How the #Packers wished they had T.J. Lang on that failed 4th-and-inches run call. Fill-in Lane Taylor misses block.
— Todd McMahon (@ToddMcMahon23) October 27, 2014"
Left tackle David Bakhtiari let backup outside linebacker Kasim Edebali around the edge for a strip-sack of Flynn in the fourth quarter, in addition to two penalties (false start and holding).
Corey Linsley got a talking-to from Rodgers after a delay of game in the second quarter.
More of the same from Bryan Bulaga, pushed around at times with relative ease.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line and Edge Players
5 of 10
Another day, another Packers defense scorched by Drew Brees and the Saints offense.
To play well against Brees, a defense must get him off the spot and knock him around. It needs to limit the ground game and put the offense into unfavorable down-and-distance situations.
Unfortunately, Green Bay's front line did little of that. The Packers totaled two sacks and three QB hits, but Brees was mostly untouched when the Saints scored a torrent of points in the second half. The New Orleans ground game totaled 193 yards on 31 carries—numbers that will win you a ballgame more often than not.
Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers each notched a sack but were mostly neutralized. Letroy Guion had a nice fourth-down tackle for loss but couldn't do significant work against Saints center Jonathan Goodwin. Mike Daniels had six tackles but no impact plays.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
Second-year man Sam Barrington made his second straight start in place of Jamari Lattimore, though he was not able to live up to the standard set in his performance vs. Carolina.
Drew Brees & Co. ate up in the interior of the Packers defense, feasting on short passes and runs up the middle into the soft belly of Green Bay's interior triangle.
The always-reliable-yet-rarely-impressive A.J. Hawk led the team with eight tackles—Barrington followed with seven—though most were after getting pushed back from the line of scrimmage.
Lattimore's playing team increased as the game turned into a blowout. Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus provided the ILB snap count:
"Packers ILB snap count: AJ Hawk 58, Sam Barrington 45, Jamari Lattimore 24
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 27, 2014"
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
Sunday night was a good test for the Packers' secondary depth, down two key starters in safety Morgan Burnett and cornerback Sam Shields.
Unfortunately, the test was a failure.
Davon House, starting in place of Shields on the outside, was picked on early and often, giving up a number of chunk-yardage plays. His tackling was equally as poor. He was (unjustly) flagged for a 34-yard pass-interference penalty that led to Brees' third and final touchdown pass. Bleacher Report NFL North Lead Writer Zach Kruse felt this would not be on House's film watch list:
"Davon House will NOT want to watch this tape.
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) October 27, 2014"
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix wasn't the usual force in the run game, bested by his Alabama brethren Mark Ingram on a number of occasions. Clinton-Dix filled the hole so quickly at times that he seemed to lose the angle on the back and was only able to get a knick on the runner.
Tramon Williams was victimized on Jimmy Graham's 22-yard touchdown grab, though Williams motioned demonstratively that it should have been offensive pass interference.
Micah Hyde showed his weaknesses in deep coverage on a long completion to rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Bottom line: When the opposing quarterback goes 27-of-32 for 311 yards and three touchdowns, your secondary had an awful night.
Grade: D-
Special Teams
8 of 10
In Week 4 of this season, the Packers and Chicago Bears played just the second game in NFL history without a punt.
Sunday night, the Packers and Saints played No. 3. Lenny Vangilder of SportsNola.com provided historical insight on games with no punts:
"Games in @NFLhistory with no punts: Packers-Saints, tonight; Packers-Bears, Sept. 28; Bills-49ers, 1992. End of list - 3 games total.
— Lenny Vangilder (@LennyVangilder) October 27, 2014"
The first eight possessions of the first half all ended with a score—two touchdowns to start and then six field goals traded between teams.
The second half saw more touchdowns—mostly by the Saints—and some fourth-down failures by Green Bay.
After Green Bay took a 10-7 lead, Mason Crosby attempted a surprise onside kick, but it failed to travel 10 yards and New Orleans recovered. He made all three of his field-goal attempts and is now 11-of-12 on the season.
New Orleans' kicker, Shayne Graham, also had a 3-of-3 night.
Neither team had a kick return or punt return.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Mike McCarthy will catch some grief for a number of decisions in this game.
On the Packers' second offensive possession, Green Bay had 2nd-and-goal at New Orleans' 3-yard line.
In the offensive huddle is Julius Peppers (6'7"), and he splits out wide to the left of the formation, singled up on safety Rafael Bush (5'11"). Peppers runs a slant, and Rodgers hits him in the numbers, but the former North Carolina hoops star can't haul it in. The Packers call a timeout, Rodgers is sacked on third down and the offense has to settle for a field goal.
On the ensuing kickoff, McCarthy tries to steal a possession with a surprise onside kick. It fails. But, I'm in McCarthy and ESPNWisonsin.com's Jason Wilde's court on this:
"Not going to kill McCarthy for either of those. Peppers drops TD. McCarthy has surprise onside kicked before, and #Packers had shot at that.
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) October 27, 2014"
In the third quarter, there's the aforementioned run play on 4th-and-1 in the third quarter, which the Packers failed to execute. Here's where I have a gripe with McCarthy; instead of running behind your All-Pro left guard Josh Sitton, the play was ran to the right, and injury replacement Lane Taylor blows the block. Green Bay doesn't convert; the Saints turn good field position into a touchdown.
To win in New Orleans, you have to play with some backbone. If Peppers catches a touchdown and the Packers execute the surprise onside kick, everybody hails McCarthy as a genius. I'm not going to second-guess it.
Grade: B+
Overall Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| Quarterback | B- |
| Running Back | A |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | C |
| Offensive Line | C |
| Defensive Line and Edge Players | D |
| Linebacker | C |
| Secondary | D |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | B+ |
| Cumulative Grade | C- |
I don't think Green Bay lost this game in the second half (though the defense's unraveling played a large part). Rather, Green Bay lost this game when it settled for field goals on the second, third and fourth offensive possessions.
If you want to beat a high-scoring team in a tough environment, you have to take advantage of your opportunities. Green Bay didn't, plain and simple. This is more of an outlier, though, as the Packers have been an excellent red-zone team so far this season.
The best news after the tough loss is that there's a bye next week. T.J. Lang's status is still unknown, but a week's rest will surely be a benefit. Rodgers said in his postgame interview that he is not going to miss any time.
It appeared as if Shields/Burnett/Jones were close to their respective returns, so two weeks off should have the trio feeling fresh for the team's final regular-season meeting vs. the Bears at Lambeau Field on Nov. 9.
Follow me on Twitter @PeterSowards.
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