Packers-Lions Recap and Analysis

Last week, the Packers absolutely dominated the Detroit Lions, scoring a 26-0 shutout.

I am not sure if this proves I am a glass half-empty guy, or that I merely see, in the immortal words of Jerry Garcia, that "every silver lining has a touch of grey." Either way, I was not impressed, and that (plus a busy work schedule) contributed to the delay in this analysis...

Green Bay committed 13 penalties and two turnovers. Sure, they forced three, but plus-one is not great when you are the best team and facing one in the bottom quarter of the league in turnover ratio.

And more disturbing was the Packers continued trend of yielding sacks. The Lions were averaging two sacks per game coming into the contest, and got five sacks against the Great Swiss Cheese Line. Four of the 13 teams in the league who are averaging 2.5 sacks per game have gotten fat off the Packers. (St. Louis is the lone Packers opponent not to be on this list.)

Here are my unit grades:

Quarterback: B

While the good outweighed the bad, there was a lot of mitigation in the positives we saw from Aaron Rodgers. For the second consecutive game, he threw for over 350 yards but also had two turnovers (to just two TDs).

It was not only his second-best yardage total, but fourth best passer rating ever. Then again, three of his six games with over a 110 rating have come against the Lions. He also has to take some of the responsibility for the sacks—two could have been prevented had he gotten rid of the football, still his greatest short-coming.

Running back: C+

The running game continues to perform well late in games when the opposition knows the Pack will be trying to kill the clock. Ryan Grant had 90 yards on 24 carries (3.8 average) and three catches for 17 yards (5.7) to lead a 30-carry, 107-yard rushing (3.6 average) and six-catch, 30-yard (5.0 average) performance from this unit. These are pedestrian numbers, but mitigated by their contributions late and their lack of a turnover while providing one of the two touchdowns.

Receiving Corps: B+

Donald Driver is the man. He broke the record for receptions by a Packer after breaking the record for yards earlier this season, and we knew these were coming.

But I foresaw a decline from him this year that potentially would see him finish with under 1000 yards for the first time in six years as he settled into the role of a solid second option/possession receiver role. Instead, Driver has been the only player in this unit to contribute week in and week out. He leads the team in receptions and yards, and is tied for the lead in scores.

In this game, Driver had seven catches for 107 (15.3 average) yards to lead a unit that generated 24 catches, 328 yards (13.7) and a touchdown. Five players had more than one catch and at least 39 yards. Drops were minimal.

Offensive Line: F

As previously mentioned, this team didn't block a sub-par pass rush, and is largely to blame for the pedestrian rushing average. I could just copy and paste this same message in every week.

Defensive Line: C+

While the line is not expected to make plays, just do the work that allows the linebackers to get the glory, six tackles, three assists, and a half-sack is still not good enough. The Lions also ran effectively for the short time they could afford to, generating 78 yards on 18 carries (4.3 average). However, the unit is upgraded significantly by Cullen Jenkins' interception of Daunte Culpepper.

Linebackers: B

This unit generated just 1.5 sacks, but did apply pressure pretty well and had 16 tackles and five assists. Their coverage was exemplary (remember how this was supposed to be such a problem for this unit, with players like Aaron Kampman adjusting to the 3-4?), as they yielded just two completions to tight ends and running backs for 26 yards.

Defensive backfield: A+

The backbone of the Packers defense was in force Sunday, generating a sack and two interceptions. The supposedly washed up (mostly wishful thinking by non-Packers fans) Al Harris had one of each to go with two tackles, and the rest of the unit generated eight more tackles and three assists. The entire unit allowed just nine catches for 79 yards (8.8 average).

Special Teams: A

Mason Crosby hit all six of his kicks (four field goals, two extra points), including a 46-yard field goal. He had a touchback and contributed to poor starting field position that made the shutout possible, along with coverage allowing about 15 yards per return, with nothing over 23 yards.

Punting was also solid, as Jeremy Kapinos had a 41-yard average and no return yards, including one punt ending inside the 20 yard line and no touchbacks. The Packers return game fared far better than Detroit's—while two punt returns totalled just one yard, the third (by Travon Williams) went for 45; Jordy Nelson's lone kick return was for 29 yards.

The Packers have the Browns on the docket this Sunday in Cleveland at 10am PDT. Cleveland has had eight players miss time this week because of illness, and while most or all players will be on the field, one must wonder about lost practice time and diminished strength.

Couple this with the Packers averaging nearly twice the passing yards and basically the same rushing yards per game, more than 100 fewer yards allowed on defense, and better than twice the points with six fewer allowed per game, and this looks like a blow-out.

That always worries me, but I will predict Packers 34, Browns 13.

I originally wrote this article for SportsScribes.net.