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Looking Back: Packers Over The Cardinals

The Cardinals weren't able to exploit mismatches against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday because QB Matt Leinart's accuracy is terrible. From Tom Pelissero:

Will the Packers shadow star WR Larry Fitzgerald with top CB Charles Woodson? It sure looked that way, with Woodson lining up against Fitzgerald on 16 of 21 snaps (76.2 percent) when both were on the field. That left nickel CB Jarrett Bush to match up with WR Anquan Boldin in the slot in three-wide sets while CB Tramon Williams took WR Steve Breaston.

That's the strategy I would expect: Woodson primarily covering Fitzgerald. What's really scary is the idea of CB Jarrett Bush covering WR Anquan Boldin. Though right now it looks like Boldin will miss next Sunday's game, and even if he could play, he won't be 100%. Maybe the Packers dodged a bullet, or maybe it means WR Early Doucet will be the receiver with a big game against Bush. However, Doucet only beat out veteran journeyman WR Jerheme Urban as the No. 4 WR recently, and Doucet's career best for receiving yards in a game is only 43. And despite what you might expect, WR Steve Breaston has outplayed Boldin this season, according to Football Outsiders, so it's not surprising that Williams was covering Breaston instead of Boldin.

Otherwise Pelissero brought up some other good questions in this article. Will the Packers blitz more? Will they use 4th CB Brandon Underwood, or rely more on LB Brandon Chillar? 

He also pointed out that they still have a lot of different offensive schemes in their bag of tricks:

From a game-planning perspective, the Packers used nine of their usual offensive personnel groups and kept several others on the shelf — a luxury of being so multiple. They won’t hold anything back in the rematch.

One more Cardinals injury: starting DE Calais Campbell broke his thumb last Sunday. Campbell's stats this season are almost identical to those of two-time Pro Bowl DT Darnell Dockett. It's possible he'd play with a cast, however he had surgery on his broken thumb, and even if he can play with a cast, I'd expect he'd need at least one week off. The Cardinals did appear to miss one major bullet: Pro Bowl CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie did not seriously injury his knee, though he was carted off the field, and he should play on Sunday.

One thing Mike McCarthy took away from this game was watching the personnel matchups. The Cardinals can't scheme and hide the fact that the Packers won the battle in the trenches on offense and defense. Instead they'll have to rely on their receivers to create space and move the ball down the field. I was expecting them to rely on big passing plays, but they only had 3 plays of over 40 yards this season (31st in the NFL). And only 1 rushing play for over 40 yards this season.

There's a detailed play-by-play analysis from last Sunday's game after the jump.

Star-divide

The play-by-play is from NFL.com.

First Quarter:

(13:34) 12-A.Rodgers pass short right to 88-J.Finley to ARZ 20 for 30 yards (29-D.Rodgers-Cromartie). PENALTY on GB-85-G.Jennings, Illegal Formation, 5 yards, enforced at 50 - No Play.

It's never good to see your Pro Bowl CB carted off the field.

(9:00) 12-A.Rodgers pass incomplete deep right to 85-G.Jennings. PENALTY on ARZ-27-M.Adams, Defensive Pass Interference, 28 yards, enforced at ARZ 29 - No Play.

After Rodgers-Cromartie was hurt, the Cardinals went to CB Michael Adams and he wasn't up to the task. 

(3:30) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep middle to 87-J.Nelson to ARZ 1 for 51 yards (27-M.Adams).

That Adams guy again. He's helped the Packers get right up next to the goal line on consecutive drives. It was a perfect pass from QB Aaron Rodgers. Up by 14 at this point.

Second Quarter:

(13:35) 7-J.Kapinos punts 54 yards to ARZ 1, Center-61-B.Goode. 15-S.Breaston to ARZ 2 for 1 yard (26-J.Bell).

A net punt of 53 yards? Pinned at the 1 yard line? It was an amazing game for the special teams unit. 

(12:40) (Shotgun) 7-M.Leinart pass deep middle intended for 15-S.Breaston INTERCEPTED by 20-A.Bigby at ARZ 20. 20-A.Bigby to ARZ 20 for no gain (15-S.Breaston). PENALTY on ARZ-74-R.Wells, Offensive Holding, 3 yards, enforced in End Zone, SAFETY - No Play.

This was the play where the offensive lineman tried to take LB Clay Matthews's head off. But it was a terrible pass by Leinart. Didn't he see SS Atari Bigby just sitting there? On the replay, you can watch the INT from right behind the goal post, basically the same thing Leinart saw in the pocket, and he threw it right to Bigby. I don't expect anything that bad from QB Kurt Warner.

(4:44) 7-M.Leinart pass short right intended for 11-L.Fitzgerald INTERCEPTED by 21-C.Woodson at ARZ 45. 21-C.Woodson for 45 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Another bad INT. The decision wasn't bad: Woodson was draped over Fitzgerald in coverage all game long. If they were going to throw the ball to Fitzgerald, they'll have to throw it even when he's covered. But Leinart threw it too far ahead, not where Fitzgerald could keep himself between the ball and the defender, and Woodson jumped the route. Up 26 to 0 at this point.

(3:02) 7-M.Leinart pass incomplete deep left to 15-S.Breaston.

Breaston was open and Leinart just threw it out of bounds.

(1:33) (Shotgun) 7-M.Leinart pass deep middle intended for 80-E.Doucet INTERCEPTED by 20-A.Bigby at GB 2. 20-A.Bigby to GB 16 for 14 yards (81-A.Boldin).

Wow. Another INT. He just airmailed that ball about 10 yards over Doucet's head and into Bigby's arms. Did I mention Leinart was terrible?

Third Quarter:

(12:04) (Shotgun) 7-M.Leinart pass incomplete short middle to 81-A.Boldin (36-N.Collins).

The meaningless play where Boldin got tied up with FS Nick Collins and injured his knee and ankle. 

(9:49) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short middle to 32-B.Jackson to GB 40 for 17 yards (28-G.Toler).

I hope RB Brandon Jackson becomes a 3rd down weapon. He's already an outstanding blocker. 

(4:21) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short right to 88-J.Finley for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

They ran the same play in the preseason game in Arizona. During the preseason, TE Jermichael Finley was matched up against Rodgers-Cromartie, Rodgers threw a jump ball along the sideline, and Finley jumped up higher to get it. I don't know why they didn't run that play more this season. It's hard to defend. If they tried to double Finley on the sideline, it would leave more room in the middle for someone like TE Spencer Havner. Throw the ball up high where only Finley can jump up for it, and otherwise it falls out of bounds.

(1:24) 26-C.Wells up the middle to GB 38 for 17 yards (47-M.Giordano, 77-C.Jenkins). PENALTY on ARZ-73-J.Bridges, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced between downs.

This was a dumb penalty even if it was called on the Cardinals. Bridges shouldn't pile on after the runner is down, but he only hit his own teammate. I've never seen unnecessary roughness called for hitting a teammate. 

Fourth Quarter:

(7:07) 2-B.St. Pierre pass short left intended for 83-S.Spach INTERCEPTED by 38-T.Williams at GB 46. 38-T.Williams to ARZ 33 for 21 yards (63-L.Sendlein).

Nice play by Williams. Their 3rd string QB probably stared at the receiver before he threw it, but Williams made a nice read and jumped the route.

(3:18) (Shotgun) 10-M.Flynn pass short right intended for 89-J.Jones INTERCEPTED by 20-R.Brown at ARZ 13. 20-R.Brown to GB 7 for 80 yards (89-J.Jones). PENALTY on GB-10-M.Flynn, Low Block, 4 yards, enforced at GB 7.

Unfortunately QB Matt Flynn returned the telegraphed pass. He looked better last week in relief against the Seahawks, but I guess this is why game experience is important. There was another receiver in the slot (maybe WR Greg Jennings?) and he was supposed to drag a defender deep, but since Flynn had been staring at Jones since the snap, Brown came off Jennings and jumped Jones's route for an easy INT.

(3:04) (Shotgun) 2-B.St. Pierre pass short middle to 11-L.Fitzgerald for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. 

Why is Fitzgerald still in the game, with 3 minutes left, in a meaningless 33 point blow out? And catching a TD pass from the 3rd string QB? So he could catch his 13th TD of the season and set a new career high, of course. 

1-N.Rackers kicks 70 yards from ARZ 30 to GB 0. 87-J.Nelson pushed ob at ARZ 46 for 54 yards (27-M.Adams).

Then WR Jordy Nelson provides the Packers longest kick return of the season. Just a great special teams day. 

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Whats amazing

is that the Cardinal fans keep trying to tell us they weren’t trying and that their starters weren’t out there but if you watched the game SO many WERE out there and that is how many of them got hurt I guess. Crazy. I hope that game was a sign of things to come for the Packers, they were really clicking!

by TrevorR on Jan 5, 2010 9:02 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

With the way their fans are talking

You’d thought that they would’ve forfeited the game if the commish let them.

by Danwood on Jan 5, 2010 10:11 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

They kept Boldin and Fitz in longer than the others

Otherwise, they were pulling the rest, except of course the OL. Even with that said, AZ may have been intentionally trying to hide certain plays and looks. Keep in mind, last Sunday they did not blitz Rodgers at all. Expect AZ to blitz heavy this Sunday! Another thing to keep in mind: AZ is bipolar, you never know which team is going to show up. Arizona has never lost back to back games this year. So if anyone thinks this upcoming game is a win already, think again. We have a lot of work to do before we prepare for Arizona in the playoffs, where it counts and matters.

Don’t get OVERCONFIDENT!

Go Pack!

by Jabooty on Jan 5, 2010 10:39 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

The Cards deactivated a healthy Boldin for the Bears game and put up forty one points

The optimum fragment there is ‘for the Bears game’, though.

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words—"mank" and "ind". What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.
-Jack Handey

by jobe on Jan 5, 2010 1:14 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Perfect Timing

Can’t help but see last Sunday’s game as the perfect “warm-up” for this Sunday’s play-off re-match. The Packer staff will surely analyze each position match-up and make adjustments accordingly based on what they see in the way of trends, etc. Sunday’s game will be won or lost not only on the field, but also on the sidelines and in the coaching booths. I like that and especially defensively, since Dom Capers will show why he’s one of the NFL’s premier defensive coordinators and Mike McCarthy’s experience on the offensive play-calling side of things will be evident.

My prediction for Sunday’s game, Green Bay prevails in a defense dominated win 17-10

by OldPro on Jan 5, 2010 9:52 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Momentum

They can say what they want about who was on the field for the Cards, but you just know after a beat down like that the Packers are ready to go again and the Cards have to be thinking how they are going to stop them.

packer wannabe http://maxsportsplus.com

by packer wannabe on Jan 5, 2010 10:22 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Don't be overconfident

This Sunday is a new week. One thing AZ didn’t do last week was blitz Rodgers, so you know they were hiding a lot. GB has a lot of work to do if they want to win the game that counts against Arizona. We won a very meaningless game last weekend.

Go Pack!

by Jabooty on Jan 5, 2010 10:41 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Very true…we also weren’t blitzing either. I don’t think we did anything all too special outside of just playing out starters a lot longer.

by TrevorR on Jan 5, 2010 12:53 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

The Cardinals can’t scheme and hide the fact that the Packers won the battle in the trenches on offense and defense.

Right. We dominated their o-line and even our o-line played better then their d-line surprisingly. If this happens again this coming Sunday I don’t think Arizona has a chance. At the beginning of the game our o-line was opening up holes for Grant and he was getting 8-10 yards a pop. If this happens again I don’t think there is anyway we’ll lose. Our passing offense is already hard enough to stop, so if we can actually be somewhat unpredictable and they have to respect our run game they could be in trouble.

This week’s game will likely look a lot different though. I know the Cardinals were awfully vanilla with there gameplan but so were we…I only saw us blitz one or two times, and most of our plays were run out of our base 3-4 package. I really think we should win this one, especially with Boldin dinged up pretty bad. I’m predicting 30-17 us!

by packallday555 on Jan 5, 2010 1:28 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

If you ask me, I hope we change it up

And pound Ryan Grant hard for the first couple series.

Whatever blitzing schemes they were holding back will be rendered pretty meaningless if they aren’t winning the battle in the trenches. Get them on their heels, then unleash the Rodgers.

by Archibaldcrane on Jan 5, 2010 6:58 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I see

the Packers’ site has a countdown to kickoff but NFL.com hasn’t yet put up when each game’s being played. Could one of you kind American-flavoured types tell me if KO times and dates have been settled yet please…?

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 7:00 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

The Packers play Sunday at 3:40 central time I believe. Not sure about the rest.

by packallday555 on Jan 5, 2010 7:09 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Packers 3:40pm CT Sunday

0r 9:40pm london time. Dallas game is 7pmCT Saturday. Or 1am London time. Jets are 3:30 CT or 9:30 London time Saturday. And Bal/NE is 12 Noon CT Sunday or 6PM LondonTie I believe.

by turd on Jan 5, 2010 7:24 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

South coast

of the UK, currently deep under snow.

It’ll make a nice change to go to work on Monday with a few hours’ sleep under my belt!

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 8:38 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

That

was supposed to be a reply, by the way. It’s late, forgive me…

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 8:39 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Haha I figured man no problem. How did you become a Packers fan?

by packallday555 on Jan 5, 2010 8:41 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

First game

I saw was Packers in ’81. I THINK it wasagainst the Vikes, but there was no contest.

They became my brand from that day on and are the sole reason I look like death between August and January. Discovering their history just confirmed I’d made the right decision: perennial underachievers with a glorious history lures me like a moth to a flame (I’m also a Tottenham Hotspur soccer fan after all). Add to that the poetry in motion that was Lynne Dickey (what? whaaaaat??) and I was sold.

Following the game over here hasn’t been too hard but following Packers through those glorious 1980s wasn’t easy, I assure you. The internet has made all that SO much easier (hell, I get to talk to other Packer fans!) and I haven’t missed much more than about one game per season. TV coverage is pretty good here now too; we get three games on a Sunday and the Thursday and Monday games too, but obviously you don’t get to choose who that’ll be; god bless Sopcast and their naughty streaming pixies!

My best friend is an equally obsessed Bears fan so there’s always plenty of bite to every season, but discovering this place was like finding a free vending machine in the dessert. :-)

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 8:52 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Desert

not dessert. That would be a shit analogy. Bloody idiot, rudi…

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 8:54 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Haha thanks for sharing man. All my family is from Wisconsin so I guess you could say I was destined to become a Packer fan. It’s really cool that you became a fan while living overseas.

Isn’t having best friends who love your favorite teams rival fun? I live in MN now, and have plenty of friends who are Vikings fans, kind of. (I say kind of, because most of my friends, and people who live in MN for that matter only seem to like their team when their good.) It certainly makes for some heated debates, which I don’t mind.

by packallday555 on Jan 5, 2010 9:10 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

It was fate.

I only met the guy about 5 years ago and we’re weirdly identical in our tastes, politics, opinions etc so it was gratifying to discover he a) loved Am Football and b) at least supported a team to be proud of.

We went to see the Dolphins/Giants mid-season game at Wembley a couple of years ago and took our seats right next to a bunch of guys who’d flown in from Miami. One of them turned to us, said hi then asked who we’d come to support. Without missing a beat and at EXACTLY the same time we both said “Neither; we’re here to boo the Dolphins”. He didn’t say much after that. :-)

Bless my friend, though; my excitement about the forthcoming playoffs muct be grating at him at least a little but he’s remained reasonably stoic. I wonder if he’ll wear my no 4 shirt on Saturday in a gesture of support…? Probably best not to push it, eh?

by rudi on Jan 5, 2010 9:19 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Haha that’s funny!

Yeah, don’t push it :).

by packallday555 on Jan 5, 2010 10:38 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

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