What Stood Out: NFC Championship Game
The Best The Offense Has Looked(1st Half)
The offense looked almost totally different to the start the game. This was a much welcomed surprise. The constant motion and checking in and out of plays was something that a large part of the fan base had expected to see much earlier in the season.
There had been glimpses of the offense being dominant to end the regular season. But the competition had to be taken into consideration. The best game prior to the NFC title game had been against Atlanta in Week 17 where the offense came out hot and it stayed the course regardless of the what Atlanta’s offense did in its comeback efforts. That was a solid showing. That was the level of efficiency many had been pleading for while it was shrugged off and dismissed as style points by those that claimed fans should just be happy for a win.
The constant 3rd down conversions were a thing of beauty. Keeping drives alive by converting multiple 3rd downs to start the game was a breath of fresh air. It’s the mark of a solid offense. A scary offense. That’s something that can demoralize a time through the course of a game. And, again, it’s something that had been missing throughout the entire season.
THE Offensive LINe
The offensive line was beyond solid in pass protection during the biggest game of the season. Brady had ample time to find guys downfield throughout the game. He did get sacked once. That was due to our backup at RG who, otherwise, held his own. The only other notable lapse in protection was a missed blitz pickup by Leonard Fournette. Out of the 8 times Green Bay blitzed, that’s the only one that really got to the QB.
The run blocking was quite suspect. It was uncharacteristically bad. It’s one thing to see Fournette take the handoff and watch him pause at the line of scrimmage to look for a place to go. But it was extremely disturbing to see it happen with Ronald Jones on just about every carry.
Even on Fournette’s angry touchdown run, the line got pushed back.
Jones was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 6 of his 10 carries. That’s crazy-insane for a RB whose greatest strengths are speed and vision. Jones usually gets to the line of scrimmage immediately. He rarely dances behind the line. Against the Packers, he had no place to go. AT ALL. And it’s not like the Packers have an outstanding rushing defense entering the game. They were ranked in the high 20s for yards per rushing attempt.
Going into the rematch against Kansas City, I’m hoping to see a bounce back from the OL in the run game.
| Player | Tm | Att | Yds | 1D | YBC | YBC/Att | YAC | YAC/Att | BrkTkl | Att/Br |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard Fournette | TAM | 12 | 55 | 2 | 7 | 0.6 | 48 | 4.0 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Ronald Jones II | TAM | 10 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0.3 | 13 | 1.3 | 0 |
Bad Brady In The 2nd Half
After starting the game looking the QB that had been idolized for the majority of his 20 year career, Brady went off the deep end for most the 2nd half. After halftime, it must’ve been time for an early evening nap or something.
Tom Brady started the 2nd half going 3 of 8 on passes. With 3 INTs!!!
The first one looked terrible from the jump as safety help was clear and present from the broadcast view of the play anyways. The second one was clearly high for some reason even though Evans had a clear path in the front of him. And the third was just a f*ck you to fate.
Our QB had gone FULL JW3. Three consecutive INTs on drives that would’ve buried the Packers early in the 3rd quarter.
What the hell was going on here?!
I had to get up from my chair and pour a double shot of my Old Grand Dad whiskey which I had been comfortably sipping as part of my old fashioned cocktails. Oh no…sipping just wouldn’t do. I had to get straight with no chase at this moment.
While many have written those interceptions as “arm punts in terms of field position”, I think that’s a bunch of bullsh*t. You cannot expect to win with that kind of play. I don’t give a damn what name is attached to it. It’s garbage. None of those were 4th down plays.
The benefit of the doubt and good credit counts. But that’s more than enough to lose a game to a decent team.
Thank goodness our Defense was able to bail our QB out of what would have ended being one of his worst playoff performances.
That Damn Defense
Once again, the defense answered the call. Todd Bowles and his squad put up another performance that should’ve gotten them much more recognition for its contributions in this year’s winning season and ultimate Super Bowl appearance.
While nothing was perfect, just about every guy that touched the field on defense played his part well. There wasn’t a weak link or anyone that was made a target on Sunday. That’s despite losing Winfield Jr. at safety and easing a returning Vea to the lineup.
Bowles’ defense stifled the Packers. They came away with 5 sacks for a loss of 32 yards. Jordan Whitehead forced a fumble that set the offense up with an easy 8 yard touchdown after Devin White recovered and returned it for 21 yards. Sean Murphy-Bunting, once again, came alive with aggressive coverage that he’d been lacking much of the season. That resulted in an INT that led to a short field for the offense.
Notably, Carlton Davis had a rough game though. He seemingly couldn’t get his feet under him. And that’s still a bit of an anomaly for our best CB. Still, he had some struggles in this one.
Overall, the defense looked damn good. It’s looked damn good for the vast majority of the season. It looks so much better to many right now because they didn’t pay attention earlier. Now that the offense has gotten off to better starts in the last couple games, people have started to take notice. It’s crazy how that works.
Vita F’n Vea
That damn Vita Vea!
Remember when some people that covered the BUCS were adamant in their claims that Vea was “run-stuffer only”? Yea…Vea was a designated pass rusher coming off a broken ankle.
His presence was felt damn near every snap he was in. It’s not coincidental that the Pierre-Paul and Barrett were both getting in the backfield regularly. With 4 hands on Vea, or the very least 4 eyes on him, our two OLBs were causing all kinds of problems for Rodgers. And I LOVED every single second of it.
Like always, Vea’s presence won’t be seen on the stat sheets. Vea didn’t record a single tackle in the game. But anyone smart enough to pay attention to the video evidence definitely sees his effect on the game.
Sean Murphy-Bunting
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give notice to the play of Sean Murphy-Bunting.
SMB played his best game as a pro. This cats was all over the field making his presence felt. It’s hard to look at the stats and gauge his play because it looks like a ho hum day for a CB. He allowed 7 catches on the 10 passes thrown his way. All combining for 97 yards and TDs.
But, Murphy-Bunting made it tough for ‘em. Rodgers had a 61.2 QB rating when targeting a receiver SMB was covering. That was the lowest of all the BUCS CBs.
He was the BUCS version of Dennis Rodman. He was an irritant to receivers all game long. If he was on the opposing team, I’d want to put a hit out on that guy. That’s the highest compliment one can give to a player.
And Sunday evening, SMB got that nod from me.
