Losses like this are what happen when you're outplayed and outcoached.

I'm still upset with the Oline. They have got to be able to step it up physically when they are getting punched in the face. To let Suh pull Suh stuff and not have any consiquences is a bjg problem. You've got to double team that dude an punish him or he will try to get away with anything. Ol Bag O Donuts would have been in Suhs thighes a whole drive if he was in there.

The Packers are still a finess team.

Why did the packers get away from motion?= The clock. Rodgers took to long. A well timed Bucs defense, timed their rushes perfectly. Very disciplined. Very physical. Why did the packers get away from Blitzes?= No lead. To much Respect for Brady. This defense needs bigger men up front. They lost in the trench. Preston Smith = To busy playing the run. Needs to be turned loose again. Fact: stop the stunts! Toss Plays:= Yes IMO, Matt would do this over. Rodgers pick. = Wheres the separation? Again, Rodgers only has eyes for Adams. Would that play have been called if the OL wasn't dominated? David and White, Why can't are GM see what we see?? Changing the offense. Find a slot WR.

The Packers got a quick jab in at the beginning and many thought the TKO was at hand, don't deny it, and then Rodgers stared down Adams and the TKO punch came and the Packers and fans didn't realize it until too late, but that punch by Tampa Bays defense ended the fight before it even became a real fight.

This was a big game for GB and after getting 3 bad teams and one missing a very key player which awarded them a 4-0 start and enjoying some chest pounding bravado, and then reality came knocking and the proverbial punch in the mouth arrived, and they simply tucked tail and cowered to the corner.

The excuse came quick and a bad week of practice was named as the culprit, but anyone watching that game with open mind and eyes knew that such an ass kicking isn't the result of bad practice alone, but a smaller part of the reasons, which were many on both sides of the ball.

GB, for the first four games, were like the Pro's playing a small college or even major High School teams and probably forgot or falsely believed it would be this easy going forward and their new-found, though short-lived arrogance, caught them looking back upon their footprints of small victories, instead of forward with respect for who was/is coming, as in Williams comment about Brady's 4th down snafu. Seriously, where does Williams believe he has the merited right for such a dis.

This team continues to be “soft” on both sides of the ball. Green Bay avoids bringing in players who might have character issues (i.e. Lyle Alzado types) who love destroying their opponent. IMO you need at least one or two of these types on your team

I like that the Bucs built a defense with design. The two fast linebackers (David and White) were selected to work behind a solid 4 man front that could control the LOS and generate pass rush pressure. Simple and effective. I am not sure what the Packer defensive design is? Hire two guys to try and generate pass rush seems to be the approach. I just don't see this defense playing (talent or scheme) at a playoff level.

The game also underlines the fact that the Packers are Aaron Rodgers pure and simple. He got rattled, he got distracted and never recovered. LaFleur could have helped by changing the play calling but it is still Rodgers who drives. There are not enough game changers on offense to tilt the field when our QB goes off. I might have tried a healthy dose of AJ Dillon to regroup the offense.

The "folding the tent" in this game is particularly troublesome.

I am glad Al focused on the offensive side of the ball in his article because that is where the Packers lost this game. The defense was okay as they only gave up 24 points to the Bucs and that is often good enough to win in the NFL. And that was with a weak link at CB (Jackson) that cost them at least 7 points.

I am surprised Al did not discuss the poor play from the O-line. The O-line's complete inability to slow down Tampa's ILB's as well as provide adequate pass protection to Rodgers were the keys to this game. I know the Tampa ILBs are fast, but I did not see much in the way of second level blocks on either White or David the whole game. You can't let those players run free and expect to have a rushing attack of any kind. Is the Packer O-line that slow?

I completely agree on Rodgers staring down Adams. It’s something he rarely does and that was to an extent I don’t recall.

I’m puzzled by the assertions that P Smith is doing the same thing. When the team admits that he is being used differently, there is no one else and coverage is essential perhaps the pundits are wrong? Whatever the truth, it isn’t working, that we can agree on.

I expected this to be a game for Dillon. When used he made hard yards. Big enough to at least make the ILBs hesitate, but he vanished till the game was over. Against this D, rushing as it was, this makes no sense regardless of pass blocking (which wasn’t going well without him), use his threat to slow things down.

I take your point on the early use of motion and agree that LaFleur’s explanation conflicts with his running calling. I think that is a point that underlined the poor preparation on planning. LaFleur is still growing, one hopes, but he needs to find an answer to teams like this and to have plan B in the event we are stymied. Instead we continued to do the same thing however futile.

In addition, there is very little excuse for a team not motivated coming out of a buy or being heavily outcoached. This year and last year he has been. So far LaFleur clearly has a vision for when things are going well, but he has been terribly devoid of ideas and options when they are not. To win out in the NFL being able to adapt in game is essential. Some games will be lost by all, a good coach minimizes that. LaFleur has yet to show that he can.

Finally, Jersey Al mentions what I have seen for years, the Packers are horrible at blitzing. I remember watching AJ Hawk try to blitz and it always looked like, instead of shooting a gap he would find a blocker and run right into him. I used to attribute it to Capers because when you’ve been a DC for 100 years, everyone must know your blitz packages by heart. But it continued under Pettine. I’d be interested to know why; bad talent, poor technique, bad coaching, or a tell that tips off offenses. A good subject for an article.

Regarding motion, the Bucs did not move with it. In the third quarter, Jones went in motion and Rodgers threw a pass to Lewis which he dropped and did not have a chance to make a first down. Jones on the other hand was open and would have easily made a first down. Next play the Bucs rushed 6 or 7 and sacked Rodgers. I just saw Rodgers not picking up the open receivers.

The Bucs ILB's were very active. Our blockers could not reach them and they had open lanes to the runner. And when they tackled, the runner did not move forward. SF has similar players. Lafleur needs to figure something out.

I saw the Packers out of sync, especially Rodgers. Missing Lewis down the seam after being down 14-10 I thought was a bigger impact than the interceptions. It showed Rodgers wasn't sharp. Focusing in on one receiver and the two interceptions should not have been thrown to Adams.

Lafleur must learn from this. His play calling and game plan against a good defense was bad. And he couldn't get Rodgers back in the groove.

After two INTs we were only down 4 pts, but the final two nails were the missed huge gains on the pass to Lewis and the ball coming loose on Jones's catch. Those two plays could have set up scores and made the game closer. Also, frustrating are the numerous over throws to MVS. I have not seen this type of disconnect with any receiver in the Favre or Rogers era. I believe MVS just does not run the precise pattern needed to complete those plays.

Preston Smith:
He needs to start winning his one on ones more often. He has not played as well as he did last year. He has to step up his game. Perhaps getting Gary and Clark back will help.

Toss Plays:
Honestly the whole game plan was flawed. I don't believe they respected or realized how fast and good the Bucs ILB's were. The toss plays and wide plays were just not going to work and that was evident. Without Vea they were missing a huge player in the middle of the DL. I would have thought they would have tried to run right up the middle a little more often. Attacking their weakness. Especially after outside plays were clearly not going to work.

Pick Six:
Give the DB credit. He read the play perfectly.

David and White: When you see these guys play and compare them to our ILB's for the last decade plus, there is no comparison. Wow were these guys good!

Packers Offense:
We can't get to carried away after a loss. If it wasn't for 2 turnovers that directly lead to 14 points and basically shell shocked them, who knows what happens in this game.

However when we go against another top ranked defense it all starts with game planning. Adding a little more deception to the game plan would help. Don't allow players to run directly towards the play. Make them take false steps. Next if the game plan isn't working, have a backup plan. Have other options. It seemed against the Bucs as soon as the game plan stopped working everything fell apart.

Getting Lazard and Ervin back will be a huge help. Lazard is a huge target who has emerged as one of the top primary weapons. He is physical, a great blocker and catches just about everything. Ervin running the Jet sweeps is so much different then anyone else. Getting him back will help the offense a lot on those types of plays. Getting Dillon more involved I think will add another punch to the offense. EQ is another guy who with some more time could help a lot. He has missed over a year. Getting him back to speed will help a ton.

And honestly, it might be time to bring in some additional help. They could potentially go and get a guy like John Ross. While he may not be a savior, he has some serious skills that they could potentially get for really cheap. Last year they went out and brought in Ervin. He was kind of a cast off. Until he came into GB and within a few weeks they already found a role for him. They could definitely find a role for Ross in this offense. Someone with serious speed could add another dimension to the offense. But until they make such a move they have to use what they have.

"......David and White: Packers fans would give their right arm to have one of these guys and the Bucs have both. Damn..."

If only this were true. Patrick Queen is that type of ILB and he was sitting there when it was time for Pack to pick in R1 this year. They passed and went for an investment in the future. Somewhere in GB's draft bible it is written that ILBs and TEs are not of high enough value to spend a R1 pick on.

If things keep going this way, it will be easy to dump Pettine as well as several of the FAs we brought in recently on defense. The Smith brothers and Amos are contributing very little. Savage is looking a bust too. He slowed down before hitting a WR that he had lined up and he used his shoulder to bump him. Needless to say the WR bounced off the "hit" and got another 5 yards before somebody else brought him down.

Did Clark and Gary play in this game?

But, before we get ahead of our skis, let's let the season play out some more. Maybe this loss will be the wake-up call they needed after 4 easy wins. Or, maybe it is a harbinger of what to expect every time we play a top flight defense. Is our defense really this bad? It could be, I just dunno yet. Is our OL this bad at picking up blitzs? It wasn't till this week. All things will be known once the season is over.

As to AJ Dillon, yes this would have been the perfect game to give him a full test ride. If he could have handled this defensive front we would know today that we have something really valuable in him and could begin planning for life w/o A Jones. Lots of salaries need to be cut next year and new big contracts will be few. Bak is a must. Maybe King is a must. After that, nobody is a must.

They could have used Shepherd in the Ervin motion role. He’s a return man with abilities and quickness similar to Ervin.

By the way EQ was pathetic as a #3 WR, he’s lost his mojo baby.

We went to Tampa hurt ourselves with turnovers and then just got beat real bad. It happens. I agree with most of the comments here and Al’s comments in his article.

To me the real test comes this week. How do the Packers respond, on the road, against a 1- 5 team? Do they come out and play aggressively for 60 minutes or do they come out flat? Do they come out with a sense of urgency or do they go through the motions.

I’d like to see the Packers play with some fire and emotion this week. I hope to see them take out their frustration and disappointment from last week on the Texans. I want to see the Packers play as though they have something to prove, because they do.
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” Vince Lombardi

Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since ‘61

Let me preface this by clearly saying I'm a huge Davante Adams fan.

That being said, there seems to be a disturbing pattern developing with this offense. Last year Adams was out for four games, and the offense hummed with Rodgers throwing the ball to multiple receivers who were able to get open. Adams came back, and that philosophy changed with Rodgers almost exclusively focusing on Adams, and we lost that game. This year, Adams is out for multiple games and once again the offense is humming with Rodgers throwing to multiple receivers and running backs. Adams comes back and Rodgers starts forcing the ball to him, resulting in two game changing INTs.

I get it. When you have a Ferrari in the garage next to three Ford Pintos, you're going to want to drive the Ferrari. What's the solution? Find another Ferrari? Not that easy, obviously. Or maybe stick to what was working when Adams was out?

Both Smiths had career years last year. This year, they're back on Earth. Why is there no pressure on blitzes? Because Pettine doesn't know how to scheme to have the blitzes be effective. Rodgers had a bad game, and it was because if Adams is on the field, he becomes like Favre- lock onto his favorite receiver and force the ball to him no matter what. Then again, if Adams isn't targeted enough, he'll become disgruntled. And, just for reference, but if Adams was not on the team next year, the Packers would gain $13 million in cap room. And they have not lost a game with Adams on the sideline. Food for thought.

Both Smiths had career years last year. This year, they're back on Earth. Why is there no pressure on blitzes? Because Pettine doesn't know how to scheme to have the blitzes be effective. Rodgers had a bad game, and it was because if Adams is on the field, he becomes like Favre- lock onto his favorite receiver and force the ball to him no matter what. Then again, if Adams isn't targeted enough, he'll become disgruntled. And, just for reference, but if Adams was not on the team next year, the Packers would gain $13 million in cap room. And they have not lost a game with Adams on the sideline. Food for thought.

A few throws to St Brown as well.

In discussing MVS a while back I posted that Robert Foster would replace him soon. I was excited by the Foster signing. He's as fast as MVS and in 2018 made the PFF all-rookie team. Watching film of him he simply looks smoother than MVS. I fully expected him to be called up when Adams went down. That didn't happen. Today he was signed off our practice squad by Washington.

Travis Fulgham was released from our practice squad a while ago. Lately, he's been tearing it up for the Eagles, in fact, he's their go-to receiver. I watched the Eagle game and he looks great. Are we so invested in MVS that he is grandfathered a position and someone has to practically be the next coming of Randy Moss to beat him out? In my mind, he's never looked particularly athletic, despite his speed. Last year he was one of the lowest-rated WRs in all of football, together with Geronimo Allison. We should have gotten rid of both. I think it's time to try someone else.

Pretty much covered everything this game Al, thanks. Two comments. This is the third time MLF has been stomped on as a HC in his short career. The hardest thing he has to learn is to stop leaning on his own scheme. All young coaches go through this, being humbled early is not a bad thing. The question is can LaFleur break his own tendencies. The play action will not work if the defensive second level does not respect the run. And as we all found out this year, MLF loves to pass over the run. Not surprising with the NFL rules as they are. But the bad news is every team in the league now knows this. Will MLF commit to the run game, and does he have the will to force QB1 to run it if Rodgers goes away from the run on RPO. I guess we will find out early on, for the NFL is a league that is unforgiving of that kind of magical thinking. On Pettine, he never did blitz or dog early in games. Most blitz are scheme usually when his team was ahead. The Packers were in for them their base defense 3-5 for most of the game. Exposing their rush /blitz packages in a game that gotten away from them early made no sense. I was at the game and the team seemed very sluggish early on. Almost like they were going through the motions. Very strange. Burn the tape, and hope we don't see another one like this for the season.

Rodgers blew it keying on Davante after a 4 game layoff where the team went 4-0 just like he did v. Chargers last year, same situation with nearly identical results. Now, let's see if he can get it together again. MLF should dictate a heavier rushing attack. What they did v. TB was embarrassing and should NEVER happen again. ONLY 19 carries by Jones, Dillon and Williams. So many of them outside zone which was NOT working.

BE AGGRESSIVE. Run what works, and force the opponent to stop you.

WHEN is this PACKERS TEAM going to inflict some F'ing PAIN??? When will THEY dictate ANYTHING on D??? The Packers had been playing with a bit of house money in facing Vikings, Lions, Saints, Falcons, nearly all of them with issues in their secondaries. The Offense got up on teams and the D coasted in nearly every Q4. The Packers Defense looks insanely SOFT. You cannot allow that. They need to stay AGGRESSIVE, or, at least get there FIRST, then maintain that.

Wow. Mike Pettine runs that show, and it is a shit show right now. He's been given a BOATLOAD of talent, and he's not using it properly. Tom Brady is fortyfuckingthree years OLD!!! You blitz that guy. You put him on his back.

This week, he'll have to play more honest with Watson, but he needs to be aggressive all the same. Bump a receiver for Christ's sakes, disrupt the timing!!!

wow. Sunday will be a telling game for both MLF and Pettine.

THE SKY IS FALLING! Get a grip folks. It's one game.

I would say Rodgers hasn't stared down Adams very often in 2020.

I would not remotely endorse the idea that Rodgers hasn't stared down down Adams very often over the last 3 years.

Needs: fast outside WR who can catch, shifty slot guy with some speed. An O-line with attitude. Amos needs to play one position at safety that he's good at. Savage has not improved at Safety probably Pettine asking him to do too much like Amos. A legit big man next to Clark with an Ornery edge. I like the ILB group we have finally. Blitz the other teams offense Pettine. ML design your run game with a RB pass option and a Fullback to take on the fast ILB's in this league and also running it up the middle. ML get off your Pansy excuse to not play Dillon at least 30% of the time. Good enough for now.

Good post!