So, what did your eyes tell you?
The Packers were overmatched. The Lions were the more talented team.
Andrew from Minneapolis, MN
What is your most troubling observation of the Packers’ struggle?
The Packers were overmatched. The Lions were the more talented team. Mike from Beloit, WI
Enough of the gum chewing.
I don’t like the body language, either. I don’t like the bobbing and swaying. It makes him appear nervous and unsettled. Watching Brett Hundley confer with Aaron Rodgers on the sideline provided a stunning contrast. Hundley doesn’t engender confidence and calm. I hope this will change with playing time and experience.
Nic from Milwaukee, WI
Vic, we’re used to winning. It really, really hurts to lose. Football isn’t the same without Rodgers.
This is an opportunity to achieve perspective. It’s not time, yet, for resignation, but it will be if the Packers don’t win in Chicago.
John from Sidney, MT
Lions go without a punt for the first time in 46 years, Vic. It’s to the point that third and long is just a flat gimme. What, in your opinion, is the reason the Packers defense is so sickeningly pathetic? Straight up, please; no ice.
When you can’t win the one-on-ones, you have to win with scheme, and scheme wins aren’t lasting. The heavy dependence on scheme last night suggests to me an admission the Packers can’t win the one-on-ones.
Russ from Chicago, IL
Vic, there is no doubt the wolves are howling for the end of Dom Capers’ run in Green Bay. Are the wolves onto something here?
Ultimately, the wolves always win, but their howls are seldom logical. If the wolves put on the tape, they’d see a defense that emptied its playbook. Nobody can say the Packers defense was conservative last night. It used an all-out blitz and got burned for a long screen pass. When the Packers went with a vanilla cover two look, Matt Stafford beat it with what Jon Gruden referred to as “turkey hole” throws — I call it the honey hole. Those passes were successful because the safety didn’t get to the sideline quickly enough; it was a lack of execution. The touchdown passes were against man coverage. The only scheme that worked with any consistency was the box overload against the run, but it got beat for a touchdown run to the outside. The Lions’ game plan was to attack the Packers on the edges, and when you play a 3-4 defense, that means the offense is going after your linebackers. Hey, in a 3-4, the linebackers are supposed to be the stars of the show. I understand and appreciate Packers fans’ frustration and their cries for change, so I won’t try to quiet those cries, but I think we all know the problem on defense last night ran much deeper than the scheme or the man who created that strategy. The Packers were overmatched.
Jake from Corvallis, OR
Hey Vic, I imagine most of the blame will be placed on Capers and the defense. While it wasn’t the best performance by that unit, they kept the Lions to 17 points through three quarters. That should be a winnable game for our offense. So my question is, what does it say about our offense that Mike McCarthy and his coaches felt it necessary after two weeks of preparation and getting healthy to run so many trap and trick plays instead of lining up and relying on his players to beat the man across from them?
When you dink and dunk, it’s usually because you don’t think you can plow and pop.
Dave from North Potomac, MD
Vic, did Brett keep his eyes downfield or not?
I sensed no fear of the rush. I liked his eyes at the line of scrimmage and what I saw of them in the pocket. Did you think his receivers created separation? Gruden didn’t.
Jason from Wilmington, NC
Hey Vic, glad to have you back! I have been reading your work for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy it. My question is during your tenures with the NFL teams that you covered, did any of them give you complete freedom to write and respond as you pleased? I am curious as to whether we have been getting a watered down version of the real thing. Looking forward to many more columns.
I know you mean well, but what you’re implying insults me. Your question implies mistrust and doubt as to my credibility. If that’s true, you should never read anything I write again.
Wes from Green Bay, WI
Sunday we saw Jameis Winston go on the field and instigate a fight. Should he have been removed? Why are some removed, others not? The enforcement of rules needs to be constant.
The more the players are permitted to celebrate, the more they misbehave. Now they’re crawling along the ground as if they were snakes. I liked football more when it was an exercise in self-discipline.
Isaac from Nashville, TN
Vic, what’s your opinion on the decline of offensive line play? Do you think it’s serious enough to compromise the old wisdom of get the big guys first in the draft?
I was thinking about this on Sunday. Offensive line play is horrible. I’ve never seen it as weak as it is right now. The worst part is these guys are permitted to use their hands to block. I can’t help but wonder what Jerry Kramer thinks: Try blocking Alex Karras with your elbows, boys. I’ve long advocated getting the big guys early, but why bother if they’re going to play like this on the offensive side of the ball? Passing the football has become a two-second event. It’s to the point I wouldn’t draft a quarterback unless he was mobile enough to get outside the pocket and make a play. In fact, I think mobility is becoming the No. 1 ingredient in successful quarterback play, and it’s because the pass pocket is collapsing. I don’t know what’s happened to make pass-blocking so seemingly impossible – run-blocking became a lost art when zone-blocking became all the rage – but I don’t see one tackle in the league who reminds me in the least of Anthony Munoz.
Tim from Lancaster, PA
I think the Jags should consider making those their permanent jerseys. They sure do look nice swarming to the ball, don’t they?
Even ugly is beautiful when it wins.
Nathan from New York, NY
Vic, do you think the Ketchman prevent defense would’ve stopped Tyreek Hill’s touchdown at the end of the first half?
I think we’ll see a team use the “Ketchman 0-0-11” within the next few years.
Adam from Jacksonville, FL
Great defense, good running game and a QB who can do just enough in the passing game. Is this team the super-charged version of 2007? Is our December friend finally ready to visit after being away for so long?
Yes. Here’s the bottom line: The days of being an underdog are over. The Jaguars are now a legitimate Super Bowl contender. They aren’t going to sneak up on anyone anymore. The hunter has become the hunted. How’s it feel?
Gabor from Budapest, Hungary
It’s good to read your opinion again; thank you for the blog! What were your plans in case you do not get the job with the Packers?
It was not a competition.
Morgan from Fort Collins, CO
It’s the end of the third quarter and this is unbearable to watch. How can this team be so outmatched? Is there a solution for this year or is it wait and see? I know, I know, help is not on the way.
Don’t beat yourself up. “Listen” to your eyes.
