For the second time in as many weeks, Matt Flynn made one major mistake, for the second consecutive week it may have cost the team the game. His mistake was not the only one however, multiple plays could have changed the outcome of the game at different points but the "if only" theory doesn't work very well on the score sheet.
The first quarter of the game set the tone for what was going to be an excellent football game for the Green Bay Packers. An onside kick to open the game was recovered and put life into the offense that was held to just three points a week earlier in Detroit. Matt Flynn had confidence and poise in the pocket, looking much more fluent in his first start since his bowl game at LSU. Flynn took the opening drive into Patriot territory before they defense turned up the heat and forced a sack and a rushed throw on second and third downs. The Packers settled for three points and a lead in a game that many wondered if it was worth playing because of the directions the respective teams had been heading.
The Patriots got the ball back and were seemingly having trouble getting going until third down, something that became common through the night. Brady completed a pass on third and 17 for exactly 17 yards on the sideline picking up a first down. On the play before the conversion the first major missed opportunity passed by the Packers. Woodson read the receivers route perfectly and had a Brady pass go in and out of his hands. The interception could have given the Packers good field position again and Brady his first interception in many weeks. Instead the Pats picked up the first down and later on the drive BJGE, who's name is way to long to spell out, ran for a 33 yard score which put the Pats on top.
The only excitement on the next two drives was on the punt by the Packers. After the New England player called for a fair catch, the gunner for the Packers was blocked into him, resulting in a live ball. The Patriots fell on it at their own nine but it was another chance for the Packers to pick up some momentum. The quarter ended with the Patriots leading 7-3 but the Packers did seem to be controlling the play for the most part.
The next Packers drive looked as if Flynn had been running the offense on a regular basis. He used a good balance of run and pass throughout the game to keep the defense honest. The result was a 66 yard touchdown pass which he strung out to James Jones, just over the fingertips of the defenders and almost over Jones as well but he was able to make the catch and run to the end zone all alone. The pass instilled even more confidence in the young quarterback, it was his first TD pass in the NFL.
The next defensive series was another good one; Bishop went straight though the line on a blitz and absolutely destroyed Brady. Personally I was surprised he didn't get flagged for hitting to hard or some other made up, protect Brady, call. The ball appeared to come loose as Brady went to the ground as well but it was blown dead and no one recovered it so a challenge wouldn't have proven much anyways which is why I'm sure one was not attempted.The drive finally ended after two more plays, the first three and out of the game forced by the Packers.
No more points were scored until the last drives for both teams.The Packers last drive started with 8:43 left and took almost seven minutes off the clock before adding another touchdown for Flynn. The drive was highlighted by a quick third down pass to Jones to not only pick up a first down but it also put Flynn over 100 passing yards on the day. Other key plays were the third down catches for conversion by Nelson and Kuhn. The touchdown strike was a bullet out of a play fake that found Jennings for the one yard TD. The completion was the first real look to Jennings, other then a deep try down the field on a free play that went about 5 yards too long.
Everything seemed to be going the right way for the Packers until they kicked off again. An attempted squib kick landed right in the hands of Connolly, a lineman. Normally this is the result that you want, unfortunately that big man found a lane and returned the kick 71 yards inside the Green Bay 5 yard line. Brady of course wasn't going to let this chance slip and found his rookie tight end to put the Patriots right back into the game at halftime.
Some things that I noticed in the first half was the escapablility of Flynn, he always seemed to know where to go and for the most part where the pressure was coming from. The downfall to that was that he seemed to take too long to throw the ball at times, trying to make something happen when it wasn't really there. He doesn't quite have the speed of Rodgers so his scrambles do not accomplish quite as much. Overall it was a great half for the team, the lead should have been more, maybe even ideally holding the Patriots scoreless but that is all part of the game, a lead against one of the hottest teams in the league was something to be happy about.
The first drive of the second half took off right where the first half ended, Flynn made his only mistake of the night and had a pass picked off and returned for a touchdown. In his defense three or more Packers players had a chance to take Arrington down and at least force the NE offense to score but none the less it was another seven points on the board and a lead for the Patriots.
Flynn took to the field after the kickoff and redeemed himself. He drove the offense 69 yards in 13 plays to take the lead back for the Packers. A methodical drive describes it best as none of the plays were more than 11 yards at a time yet it took almost seven minutes to score.
The Patriots offense didn't get to take the field until there were just five minutes left in the third quarter. The result was a three and out highlighted with another sack for the defense.
The offense took over again, using 11 plays to go 45 yards to the NE 1 yard line where they were stopped three times and had to settle for a field goal to put them up 27-21 just minutes into the fourth quarter. This was another opportunity wasted to put the team up by even more, a ten point lead would have been much more substantial so late in the ball game.
The Patriots responded again matching the Green Bay field goal to make it just a three point game with eleven minutes left. A first down pass to Welker for 35 yards sparked the drive putting New England immediately into a scoring area. The following Packers drive was one of their few three and outs of the night, but also one of the most costly since they only burned about a minute off the clock.
The next Patriots drive was highlighted by Woodhead, one of the few players on other teams that I enjoy watching play. He highlight everything that is good about sports, showing how hard work can lead to success for even an undersized player. He piled up 37 yards on four plays which resulted in a touchdown pass once again from Brady to his rookie TE Hernandez.
A drive from both teams that resulted in nothing set up the Packers for one final chance with four minutes left and the ball near the midfield line. Early in the drive the running game was able to pick up three first downs, one compliments of a Patriots penalty. The rushing may have been a bad idea though as the Packers were still at the New England 29 with under a minute and a half to play. A sack with just over a minute to go didn't help either, setting them up with second and 18. They were able to get most of it back in two completions though but indecision after the third down pass with 29 seconds to go was the final straw. Instead of lining up quick and trying to pick up a first down and spike the ball they put all the eggs in the hail mary pass that resulted in a sack. Flynn just couldn't find an open receiver to finish off the game when the end came around. The coaching staff has taken the blame for the play saying that Flynn did as he was instructed after the third down play and that it was how they wanted it to be run. Either way the game ended as the clock ran out after the sack and the Patriots' Wilfork fell on the ball. Fitting for the kind of game he had, it seemed that Flynn was trying to avoid him the whole night regardless of who was blocking.
Out of the loss the Packers can take a few things; first and foremost they established a nice running game tonight. They totaled 143 yards on the ground, 99 by Jackson the one extra yard would have been nice to get a Packers back over the century mark for the first time in a while. Secondly their defense proved itself holding the hottest team in the league to thirty one points, doesn't sound like much but ask Jets and Bears fans how easy that is lately.
Reinforcing my idea that Flynn held the ball a little too long was the five sacks that the Packers surrendered. I would rather have him hold the ball then carelessly throw it away though so considering it was his first start I can deal with that. He will be tagged with two turnovers for the game but one is the fourth down play that ended the game, at least he was trying to make something happen, the fumble is something that comes along with that.
New week will be a new beast, and the start of the playoffs for the Pack. The Giants come to Lambeau for the first time since their NFC championship game a few years ago but they are coming off their stunning loss at home to the Eagles. They will be looking to regain confidence after allowing a 21 point lead to slip away in under eight minutes.. The Packers need to regroup after losing three out of four, hopefully Rodgers can return to practice this week and make things happen.
Either way it should be a great showdown since playoff spots are on the line and only two weeks remain to claim them. Until then Go Pack Go!
No comments:
Post a Comment