Packers Vs Rams - 3 Plays That Make You Go Hmmm
Jersey Al picks out three thought-provoking plays from the Packers' game against the Los Angeles Rams
By JerseyAl
After re-watching the Packers game, here are three plays that made me go hmmm, for various reasons.
Pancakes Anyone?
I'm not surprised Aaron Donald felt like choking some people yesterday. While he had some moments, mainly by using his quickness to avoid blocks, this so-called "Mt. Rushmore All-time DL" got pushed around for most of the game by household names like Lucas Patrick and Yosh Nijman. While we've heard about Yosh's "elite feet" from the likes of David Bakhtiari, I was surprised by the quality of his run blocking during his previous stint of three games as the starting left tackle. Watching all his reps in this game, Yosh appears to be the real deal, albeit still inexperienced. I would expect him to be the Packers' starting right tackle next season. Major kudos to the scouting department.
Play design
When I was a kid, different blocks in my neighborhood had "teams" of rag-tag kids who would play touch (and often tackle) football in the street against each other. I was that kid who kept a book of plays I had designed for us to run. So, I've always been enamored by the beauty of a well-designed play where all the components and individual assignments have to come together for the play to work (a seal here and a seal here...) And that's what we have here. Deguara comes in motion to take the backside defensive end. Newman and Turner block down on the DL (Robinson) with Taylor peeling off to block a LB. Patrick and Runyan double team the other DL (Donald), with Patrick peeling off to block a LB. Daffney lead blocks (more of this, please) into the hole and picks up a LB. It's poetry in motion. However, things don't go as planned as far as execution of blocks. Turner misses his peel-off block. Patrick can't get through traffic to his LB target. Floyd manages to elude Deguara's cut block attempt. The result is there is a LB waiting for Dillon and Floyd gets his hands on Dillon at the LOS as well. Of course, it's AJ Dillon, so it didn't matter. He plows through them all to pick up a seven yard gain. Old time football here...
Davante
This is just a Davante Adams appreciation clip. When I first saw this play, I saw Adams standing alone near the pylon and wondered why Rodgers didn't throw to his favorite target there. Looking back at the play, you can see that Rodgers has already thrown it to Cobb (interference anyone?) before Adams completes his route. But regardless, look at the Davante route - an out and up and as he has the defender thinking "I better get to the corner of the end zone," a hard stop and turn. So fluid and effortless.
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"Jersey Al" Bracco is the Editor-In-Chief, part owner and wearer of many hats for CheeseheadTV.com and PackersTalk.com. He is also a recovering Mason Crosby truther. Follow Al on twitter at @JerseyalGBP.
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Comments (42)
fordguy
November 30, 2021 at 03:24 pm
Al, do you think with the progression and improvements of Yosh that Bahk could become a trade candidate for the much needed cap space?
JerseyAl
November 30, 2021 at 03:46 pm
That would likely depend if it all gets torn down next year, with Rodgers, Adams, Z, etc leaving.
Guam
November 30, 2021 at 05:23 pm
Trading Bahk buys the Packers almost no cap relief in 2022. His unamortized signing bonus is as big as his 2022 salary so trading him just swaps one for the other and it is a wash for the 2022 cap (obviously a trade would bring big cap relief in 2023....). Thats why Yosh will replace Turner in 2022 because Turner is in the last year of his contract and by cutting or trading him, the Packers get nearly full value in cap relief. Now if Yosh is good enough....he might replace Bahk in 2023 when the unamortized bonus has shrunk well below Bahk's 2023 salary and the Packers would get some cap relief.
PearlyBakerBest
November 30, 2021 at 06:05 pm
Still $15 mil in dead money on ‘23. If he plays well next year probably makes more sense to keep him until ‘24.
Guam
November 30, 2021 at 09:59 pm
Agreed there is only some cap relief in 2023. However if the choice is between keeping Savage, Gary or Alexander and dumping Bahk, Bahk could be a surprise cut (if Yosh is ready to replace him).
Minniman
November 30, 2021 at 06:33 pm
Apparently his contract dead money for this year and next is way too high to even consider trading him.
I've thought about this previously too - TGR went into it in response (thanks again).
His Dead Cap number next year is $39M and because of the recent restructure, most of this becomes accountable (even if they trade him).
barutanseijin
November 30, 2021 at 09:04 pm
Why would the Packers dump a quality LT when his trade value low and there's no cap savings? Makes no sense.
dblbogey
November 30, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Tempting, but you can't have too many quality tackles. Turner is likely gone next year, Elgton will probably miss 6-8 games at the start of the season.
NitschkeFromTheGrave
November 30, 2021 at 03:32 pm
On clip #3 -Adams:
Roger's made the right choice and yes there should have been a flag.
* Adam's defender DID NOT break from Adam's until Roger's committed to Cobb. Just prior to the commitment he was stealthy in a high percentage position for the pic if thrown to Adam's.
Watch Adam's defender in the split second before Roger's sets his sights on Cobb. It could have turned out very bad had he gone to Adams.
JerseyAl
November 30, 2021 at 03:44 pm
I considered that, but I think the CB stopped his advance to the corner when he saw the ball going to Cobb. If Rodgers throws it at the same exact time but to Adams, it's an easy TD at the pylon. Adams had not yet turned around and the DB was still thinking corner end zone at that time.
Brockrice99
November 30, 2021 at 03:41 pm
The play I am still "HMMM?" about is the missed field goal. According to a lot of the Packers Twitter Mason was talking with Bojo about the miss and hold. But on every replay I have seen of that kick the hold is absolutely perfect. I am starting to think Mason has no confidence in his Long Snapper and Holder based off previous failures and he has a sense of doubt in his head every kick because of that, and then when something does go wrong that is his go to for blame. But on this kick, the snap looked maybe a little in, but the hold was dang near perfect and it didn't look like a lot of pressure on the block, so this is something Crosby has to knock through the uprights, especially come playoff time.
PeteK
November 30, 2021 at 04:13 pm
This is becoming a serious concern as a good kicker is a must come playoffs.
GregC
November 30, 2021 at 04:56 pm
I've seen at least three really bad snaps from the new guy since they brought him in. I never saw one from Hunter Bradley, in spite of the teams' dissatisfaction with him. I agree that Crosby has lost confidence that the ball will be in the right place when he swings his leg. I wonder if Crosby lobbied to have Bradley replaced or if he had the new long snapper foisted on him against his wishes. Whatever the reason, switching long snappers in the middle of the season has been a disaster.
Coldworld
November 30, 2021 at 05:22 pm
Bradley had errant snaps. The big question is why my they saw this guy as better option mid season. He was on the PS. If they didn’t have him work with Crosby and Bojo before the change then that would be hard to explain and the mid season change even more so.
GregC
December 01, 2021 at 06:11 am
I saw some snaps from Bradley that were off target, but they weren't as bad as a few of the snaps I've seen from Wirtel.
barutanseijin
November 30, 2021 at 08:43 pm
If you never saw a bad snap from Bradley, you weren't watching too carefully. Erratic is the kindest thing you could say about him.
dblbogey
November 30, 2021 at 11:39 pm
He's like a golfer with the yips. After you miss a couple of short ones, it gets in your head.
PatrickGB
December 02, 2021 at 12:49 pm
The wind was tricky.
BruceIrons
November 30, 2021 at 04:22 pm
Play #2 is fascinating because it shows that, even when scheme breaks down or the other guys make a play, football is - at its core - a physical contest.
Runner against tackler, power against strength.
Some guys are better fits in certain schemes, but no matter what kind of offense you run, having a dude who can straight up plow over defenders is a huge asset.
jurp
November 30, 2021 at 04:55 pm
On one of Dillon's runs, he literally disappeared at the LOS but the pile kept moving and moving and moving, until he dropped on the ground at the end of a 10 yard run. An absolutely amazing runner. I would NOT like to be the CB or LB who has to (try to) tackle him in the open field once he's gotten a head of steam.
Thegreatreynoldo
December 01, 2021 at 02:56 am
My own take is that this play is one of Newman's best snaps on the day. He just moved his man completely out of the hole. Then Dafney did a pretty good job as well. Those two things plus Dillon being a beast make the run go. So I agree, football is a physical game at its core.
Everyone else did enough without really fully executing their assignments. Nice play, Newman, Dafney, and Dillon.
It should be noted that this play is Dillon's longest run of the game.
PeteK
November 30, 2021 at 05:08 pm
I love the play that had everyone in the stadium and on TV fooled , Rodgers QB keeper for a TD. Also ,of great annoyance are the long TD passes we are allowing especially since we were in position to make the play on a few occasions.
Norm
November 30, 2021 at 05:26 pm
Regarding clip #1, that is really impressive considering it's Aaron Donald being pancaked. Please tell me this isn't a cherry-picked single play (your post implies otherwise) and Yosh really has improved this much and can hold his own against elite DT's. Like most fans I tend to follow the ball when watching live (although I'll key on Rashan Gary or Kenny Clark at times), and I don't have access to replay (without paying of course), so it's really nice to see your breakdown of plays, especially with video clips supporting your insights. Kudos to you Al!
egbertsouse
November 30, 2021 at 05:45 pm
No it wasn’t cherry-picked. Donald sucks. We all know Lancaster and Lowry are far better. Uh-huh. Ya d’ere hey!
JerseyAl
November 30, 2021 at 06:49 pm
Well it was cherry-picked, but only in the sense that I picked it because it was the most impressive of quite a few impressive snaps.
Norm
November 30, 2021 at 06:59 pm
Good to know it wasn't a unicorn. Also, good to see Aaron Donald and the Rams once again choke at Lambeau.
Coldworld
December 01, 2021 at 08:02 am
Nijman has always been better at run blocking even without technique. He is truly a physical beast. That’s how he dominated in college with zero technique. The surprise is that he in fact could be taught and has learned. He’s still inexperienced but he’s come a heck of a long way in the passing game.
His college coaching staff suggested that he was untrainable and that was why they just let him play on physical dominance. That probably cost him a chance at millions in the draft and extra years apprenticing in the NFL. I wouldn’t want a child of mine playing for those coaches.
Great scouting by GB and a great move by Gute and Co, followed by excellent coaching. None of us knew it would pay off, but there was never any doubt that, on a purely physical talent basis, if he could learn, it would be an enormous steal. Physically he was an early round one consensus athlete, just not yet a football player.
Our tackles of the future are Jenkins and Nijman. It’s just a matter of when. With Jenkins’ injury, I’d say Nijman is at right next year and Bakh at left. Long term, Nijman is left, health permitting as always.
barutanseijin
November 30, 2021 at 09:00 pm
Donald is a bit overrated. Good OL beat him or turn his aggressiveness & quickness against him -- as Jenkins did last season in the playoffs.
Bitternotsour
November 30, 2021 at 11:48 pm
aaron donald is not overrated. sometimes the bear eats you.
Thegreatreynoldo
December 01, 2021 at 02:45 am
PFF gave Donald a 90 grade. OTOH, PFF gave Clark a 50 grade. That seems low.
croatpackfan
December 01, 2021 at 07:06 am
I do not care of PFF(ew) grades from the time when they gave Aaron Rodgers grade very low on one game Packers win and Aaron placed 3 TD, while, I believe it was Dalton (I might be wrong) got the highest grade that week (Bengals lost by 1 or 2 points) despite he threw 2 picks and just 2 TD. Thy were claiming that they were taking in consideration quality of the opponents. Just ridiculous explanation!
With that kind of bulls*it I do not believe them any more. As I do not care about LV predictions. Packers and many other underdogs exposed them heavily this season!
Swisch
November 30, 2021 at 10:18 pm
The syrup on top of the pancake block is Yosh just walking away like he does that kind of thing all the time. Cool and classy.
JerseyAl
December 01, 2021 at 01:58 pm
I totally meant to write the same thing but just forgot. Yosh gets up and calmly walks away like it was no big deal while Donald gets helped off the turf by his teammates. A great juxtaposition.
splitpea1
November 30, 2021 at 05:43 pm
I hope you're right about Yosh earning the starting RT job next season, because that's one less concern come draft time; this offense is going to need a retooling if the expected departures materialize in the off-season. We're going to need WRs (one of whom can return kicks), TEs, a developmental (or maybe not-so-developmental, we'll have to wait and see) QB, and on defense, a CB (who can also hopefully return kicks). We can't afford to spend three picks on the OL for the third year in a row.
I know it's a little bit early to be thinking about the shopping list, but I did it anyway.
Tundraboy
November 30, 2021 at 10:38 pm
I think we're set pretty set at OL.
HarryHodag
November 30, 2021 at 05:53 pm
Trades...good for fantasy sports, not much in the real world. So you have an All-Pro(David B.) that you want to get rid of so an inexperienced person can take over.....? Trades are also different than free agency as the money you'd like to save often requires a 'cap hit', just like trading Rodgers in the off-season still means a cap hit for a player you don't have. In Rodgers case it's $17 million of money for nothing in return.
Turner would be a candidate to be cut as most of his money has been paid and Nijman could move to right tackle. As teams scout Nijman for his weaknesses, you'll see him in a different light. He is a good player for the future and a real gem to prove that you need to school a player in the pro game not just draft them and throw them to the wolves.
CheesyTex
November 30, 2021 at 07:07 pm
Right on.
We are in for another off-season of Salary Cap anxiety due to the lowered Covid Cap, to whether or not #12 will renegotiate to stay in GB (hope he doesn't leave us in limbo again), and to losing some favorite players just to get under the projected Cap.
But what a great job by both the players and front office to overcome all the offseason crap and player injuries to play outstanding football this year.
Swisch
November 30, 2021 at 10:29 pm
As this season indicates, it seems a rare thing to have too many offensive linemen.
Whether it's Rodgers or Love at QB, I want both Bakh and Yosh for protection.
KurtMc
November 30, 2021 at 06:29 pm
Thanks Al. Great rerun of Davante. Hope the coaching staff picked up on that little route gem and tuck it away for future use.
CheesyTex
November 30, 2021 at 06:38 pm
Play that made me go hmmm: Line up at mid-field on fourth down as if to go for it, and then waste a time out vs. a 5 yard penalty. With CB as punter? Hmmm.
MarkinMadison
December 01, 2021 at 12:16 am
At least according to SportTrac the Packers would actually take a cap hit of $17M next year by cutting Bakh. Even if you did a post-June 1 cut you are still only chopping that basically in half. I just don't see how the Packers could cut or trade him next year effectively, even if they wanted to do so. Not to mention that the last time we saw him play he was arguably the best LT in the NFL. So, I think no, no way Bakh is gone in '22. Worst case scenario he is not the same player he used to be and you debate who plays RT and LT. Yosh might be good enough in that scenario to warrant the conversation.
In '23 the Packers would save $8.75M by cutting Bakh. It might make sense at that point to cut or trade him. But remember the salary cap will probably spike up in '23 so the Packers may not need the space as much in '23 as they will in '22. OTOH in '24 the Packers would gain over $21M by moving on, and Bakh will be 33 that year. At that point I think he pretty much has to be moved or restructured. But '24 is a long-ways away. Who knows what the Packers look like by then.
Packerfansupreme
December 01, 2021 at 07:31 am
Maybe jenkins would be his replacement when bak goes