The Schofield Report: 12/12/10

This is the first ever Schofield report. I'd like to think it's a work in progress that captures the work of the team in a day's performance, but it can be lambasted, destroyed, and hated if you wish it to be so.

A 7-3 loss to the Detroit Lions drops the Packers to 8-5. A quick recap of the season...

Packers 27, Eagles 20: Packers knock Kevin Kolb out of the game and survive Michael Vick's 2nd half onslaught for their first win in Philadelphia in several decades.

Packers 34, Bills 7: Packers knock Trent Edwards out of the game, and the Bills decide to give Edwards the boot for good.

Bears 20, Packers 17: Poor play by the Packers allows the Bears to stay in the game, and the Bears win a game the Packers would love to have back.

Packers 28, Detroit 26: Packers do just enough to win, but this game tastes bad afterwards.

Redskins 16, Packers 13: Rodgers knocked out in OT, another game the Packers would love to have back.

Dolphins 23, Packers 20: Packers can't close out Dolphins in regulation and lose heartbreaker at home.

Packers 28, Vikings 24: Packers finally close out an opponent, with no small amount of help from a certain QB 4's interceptions.

Packers 9, Jets 0: The stunner of the season? Mark Sanchez serves up a disaster against the Packer defense as the Jets get shut out at home.

Packers 45, Cowboys 7: Wade Phillips gets axed after a horrible performance.

Packers 31, Vikings 3: Packers thwart unfounded revenge AND sweep the Vikings for the first time since 2007.

Last 3 Games:

Falcons 20, Packers 17: ST can't stop big kick return, and defense can't stop Falcons from marching into FG range for the game-winner after an epic drive of their own.

Packers 34, 49ers 16: A game that was too close for comfort in the 1st half turned into a 2nd half blowout.

Lions 7, Packers 3: Breakdowns below. Woe and horror within...

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Since a loss in the 2005 season opener at Detroit, the Packers have won every single game against the Lions. Every single one. It was an impressive streak, but streaks end eventually and losing to Detroit is more upsetting than infuriating to me. Detroit has played better than their record intimates, while other teams have played far worse than their record intimates (Chicago and both New York teams come to mind). The Lions were frustrated. They badly needed a win, and they got one today. The only problem is that they beat the Packers.

Offensive Breakdowns:

Passing: Rodgers was off-target all game long. I have no idea what was going on, but he had a terrible first half and was knocked out of the game (which was a mercy). Flynn came into the game and played well, but he made a bad read in the endzone and forced a pick into double coverage, resulting in an INT by DeAndre Levy.

Grade: C-. D for Rodgers, who is capable of much, much better, and C+ for Flynn, who played very well considering how he is NOT supposed to be in the game unless the Packers lead by 3 or more touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

Rushing: No one could get the job done. Brandon Jackson was just trying to survive out there, and Starks was getting cut down on the edges all game long. Nance had little to nothing as well.

Grade: D+. Considering the failure to establish the running game, as well as the failure of the offensive line to block effectively for the backs, it's a wonder Flynn completed as many passes as he did in my opinion.

Receiving: Quarless is a rookie TE, but you can't put the ball on the turf. Ever. Jennings should be credited with an interception for his horrific gack that allowed Amari Spievey to grab the football, but he definitely caught a touchdown pass that the officials messed up on and McCarthy decided not to challenge. Swain managed some receptions, but one for a first down was dismissed because of offensive holding. Donald Driver simply couldn't get open downfield.

There was a combination of good defense by the Lions to jam the receivers and an inability to get open by Packer receivers that made Rodgers's and Flynn's days very difficult.

Grade: B-. The wide receivers and the tight ends have to get open and it didn't look like they did that well at all today. Jennings had a TD catch waived off by the officials and had a horrible gack where he knocked the ball to Amari Spievey. Amari Spievey is NOT a Packer wide receiver.

Pass Blocking: Terrible. Worse than awful. Atrocious. The QBs had less than a few seconds to react before they had to move out of the pocket, and that's never going to work with a young QB like Matt Flynn.

Grade: D-. This was a truly pitiful effort. The Lions were without Kyle Vanden Bosch and missed Cliff Avril for some of the game, and they still managed to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn.

Run Blocking: Terrible again. I'm not sure whether the OL were worse in pass-blocking or run-blocking, but an offensive line can't play as terribly as the Packers offensive line did and expect to beat anyone.

Grade: D. The failures of the line to run block made Brandon Jackson and James Starks's lives miserable today. This sort of performance will not get it done against anyone.

Grading the Offense as a Whole: C-. The offensive line didn't play well at all, making the QB play more frantic and killing the running game, and the receivers didn't help matters by dropping passes for interceptions and putting the ball on the turf. That being said, once the 2nd half started and Flynn started to play well, the offense showed some cohesion and got the ball deep into Detroit territory.

Defensive Breakdowns:

Pass rush: Good. Very good. I can't recall Drew Stanton looking comfortable in the pocket at all for the game, which is a great sign for a defense. Harrying the QB makes the QB uneasy and prone to taking sacks and throwing the ball into coverage.

Grade: A. Stanton didn't look comfortable in the pocket and was sacked twice for losses of 21 yards.

Run stopping: Not so good. Maurice Morris ran for 51 yards on 11 carries (an average of 4.6 YPC), but his longest carry of the game was 8 yards. Jahvid Best ran for 38 yards on 13 carries (an average of 2.9 YPC), which is much better. Drew Stanton, however, managed 44 yards on 4 carries (an average of 11.0 YPC, which is flat-out inexcusable).

Grade: B. The work the DL and LBs did in keeping Morris from getting long gains and slowing down Jahvid Best was good, but the outside contain on Stanton was poor.

Pass coverage: Good, but could have been much, much better. Drew Stanton completed 10 passes on 22 attempts for 117 yards with a touchdown, but he threw 2 INTs (Charlie Peprah and Tramon Williams). Stanton was wild for most of the game, but he threw the lone touchdown pass of the game to Will Heller (a screen that combined good blocking with poor defense for a perfect result, unfortunately).

Grade: B+. Heller wasn't stopping for anyone on that TD play, but with the exception of a long reception by Calvin Johnson in which the trailing Charles Woodson got burned like a torch, the Packers seemed to be wherever Stanton was throwing the ball.

Grading the Defense as a Whole: A. Holding any team to 7 points for an entire game is impressive, no matter who you play. There were breakdowns, and I imagine Capers will find a lot to improve on for next week against the Patriots.

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End of the Day: The Packers seemed listless from the opening snap. The last time I saw a team like that was 2009 Wisconsin vs. Northwestern (which was even MORE of a heartbreaker), when NU showed up and Wisconsin didn't. The Lions simply played much, much better than the Packers today. The Packers had their share of opportunities but didn't convert in the clutch. The Lions did as well, and converted when they needed to in order to snap their long losing streak.

Next Week: 12/19/10 @ New England

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