By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Green Bay’s running attack grows legs; Dolphins’ offense sacked by Pack ‘D’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Run, Aaron, run.

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Green Bay’s game plan Sunday read more like a children’s book than an NFL playbook. Simple, straightforward and educational, it was a road map to success. And if it continues, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy won’t be sweating it out on the hot seat.
He’ll be too busy working up a lather stacking successes.
In the Packers’ 31-12 victory over Miami at Lambeau Field, Aaron Jones joined Davante Adams to form an electrifying 1-2 punch that provided much-needed offensive balance.
Jones rushed 15 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He also had six carries of 10-plus yards, including a 67-yard lightning bolt that brought 78,076 fans to their feet.
Adams caught four passes for 57 yards, including two touchdown receptions to give him an NFL-leading nine. Still, he was more than happy to discuss Jones’ huge game.
“He’s a very dynamic player,” Adams said. “I’d like to say I was one of the first to call that this was going to happen – like within maybe two weeks when he first got here – I saw something in the way he runs the ball. He doesn’t mess around. He gets up on people and everything is full speed. I think he just plays too fast for everybody.”
Jones’ average of 6.8 yards per carry is tops in the NFL.
When Jones wasn’t slicing through gaps in Miami’s defensive front seven, Aaron Rodgers was picking the secondary apart through the air.
Rodgers hit on 19 of 28 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and a 112.1 passer rating. The Packers’ offense went 4-for-4 in the red zone and played mostly mistake-free football.
Jones’ emergence was a major reason. If the Packers can run the ball in the red zone, it’ll make throwing it that much easier.
“We needed to win,” Rodgers said. “We got the run game going. We had a lot more balance, which we haven’t had all season.”
The Dolphins (5-5) tried but couldn’t keep up with Jones.
The Packers’ defense also did its share and then some.
It held the Dolphins to four field goals while reasserting itself in the red zone.
The Packers’ defense notched its first red-zone takeaway in 31 games to thwart the Dolphins’ opening drive. It came when Reggie Gilbert recovered a fumble after a bad snap. It was the Packers’ first since Micah Hyde picked off Kirk Cousins in a 42-24 loss at Washington on Nov. 20, 2016.
On Miami’s second drive, the Packers posted their first red-zone sack in 25 games. It occurred when Kyler Fackrell got to Osweiler on third-and-8 at the Green Bay 19. It was the Packers’ first since Julius Peppers brought down Matthew Stafford in a 31-24 win at Detroit on Jan. 1, 2017.
Hyde’s been in Buffalo for two seasons and Peppers has since retired. Suffice it to say it’s been way too long.
“For sure this is the type of game we needed from our defense,” Rodgers said. “We held them to four field goals. Every time there was the potential for momentum swings … those were big plays from them.”
Rodgers continued, “We needed that. If (the defense) plays like that, and we run the ball like that, we’ll be tough to beat. (Jones) got going, he really did. He’s a really good back, a slasher, fast (and) tough to take down. The first guy doesn’t bring him down a whole lot.”
The Packers (4-4-1) defended their turf. Now they’ve got to prevent the Seahawks (4-5) from doing likewise Thursday night.
Seattle is on a two-game losing streak, but don’t be fooled. The Seahawks’ losses include a two-point setback to the Rams when a late holding penalty and fourth-down fail cost them a win. In their narrow loss to the Chargers, a false start followed by a tipped pass prevented Seattle from a game-tying two-point try.
On Sunday, Seattle lost a hard-fought game to the Rams, 36-31, after a last-ditch drive fizzled in Rams’ territory.
Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner isn’t into moral victories. He is used to Seattle pulling a rabbit out of the helmet at the end. He hopes to change that Thursday night against Green Bay.
“I’ve been here for a while and we’ve had a lot of these games where (we’ve won), and to be on the opposite side, it sucks,” he said. “But I have confidence that we can flip that around.”
While Seattle searches to re-establish its 12th man, Green Bay is focused on winning its first road game of the season.
“We need to win games – that’s the obvious,” McCarthy said. “I think we’ve played well at home and we played well again today. Everyone knows what our record is. We haven’t won on the road yet. That’s an obvious emphasis this week.”
The Packers also need to heal up.
Safety Kentrell Brice (knee) and linebacker Nick Perry (ankle) were lost in the first half. Offensive lineman Lucas Patrick is in the concussion protocol and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who had a second-half interception, left with a groin injury. In addition, corner Kevin King is already out with a hamstring.
On a short week, the Packers are staring a great opportunity in the face mask. With a win in Seattle, the Packers would be in decent shape with 10 days to prepare for the Vikings.
If that happens, it’s going to be a terrific stretch run – with the emphasis on “run.”
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
New England handles Green Bay, 31-17, in “Brady vs. Rodgers” battle
GREEN BAY, Wis. – It was neither the famous quarterback from Michigan with the runway model wife, nor the QB from Cal with the ex-race car driver girlfriend, who came up big.

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It was the diminutive Kent State quarterback-turned-receiver, Julian Edelman, who made the throw to steal the show.
On what was vintage Patriots’ trickery, Edelman caught a backward lateral from Tom Brady and then threw back across the field to James White for a 37-yard gain to the Packers’ 2.
White scored three plays later to break a second half tie and send New England to victory over Green Bay Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
The Packers’ offense struggled on and off, intermixed with signs of resurgent efficiency, on a night when Aaron Rodgers was merely very good, but not excellent.
Rodgers hit 24 of 43 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns and a 89.2 passer rating. He was only sacked once, but harassed regularly and never really got into a rhythm.  Either he would miss a throw, or a receiver would run a poor route, or there would be a penalty or two to stall the drive.
It isn’t always the same thing, but it’s always something, or so it seems.
“The consistency,” Rodgers told reporters. “We’re not hitting on all cylinders. (We’re) hurting ourselves with negative-yardage plays and missed throws and turnovers at the wrong time.”
The Packers (3-4-1) weren’t blown away by New England (7-2).  They were in the game in the fourth quarter, as they were last week against the Rams, but couldn’t quite do enough to get over the top.
That’s how it feels when the Packers’ offense misses chances in the red zone, fails to establish the run and commits a fumble at a crucial time.
The Packers’ defense is far from blameless, but let’s concede that they were devastated by injuries once again.
Tramon Williams did a credible Ha Ha Clinton-Dix fill-in, but made a big mistake missing a tackle on Josh Gordon, who raced 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a two-touchdown win, effectively sealing the Packers’ fate.
Aaron Jones looks like he has a very bright future with this team, and is a play maker that the Packers sorely need to use more frequently, but his fumble at New England’s 34 in a 17-17 game was a  blow. Jones’ turnover came after Rodgers hit ascending rookie receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling for completions of 24 and 26 yards to end the third quarter.
Jones’ fumble was a momentum killer.
“It doesn’t help when you hurt yourself with things like that, whether it be penalties (the Packers had seven for 63 yards) or turnovers,” Packers’ receiver Davante Adams said. “Nobody’s out there trying to turn the ball over. We’re going to do what we do to try to protect it and put ourselves in a better situation as we move forward.”
Rodgers had erased a seven-point halftime deficit with a 51-yard bomb to MVS that set up a 15-yard touchdown toss to Jimmy Graham to make it 17-17.
But after that, the wheels came off and it was all New England.
Brady completed 22 of 35 passes for 294 yards, one touchdown and a 99.0 passer rating. His touchdown toss to Gordon is about as easy a throw as Brady is likely to get.
Cordarrelle Patterson, the ex-Vikings receiver/return man, is a jack-of-all-trades with New England. He returns kicks, covers kicks, catches passes and even plays a little running back. When White went out with an injury, Patterson stepped in and rushed 11 times for 61 yards and a touchdown.
It’s another example of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick relying on a player’s skill set and versatility.
Belichick, like most coaches with a defensive background, is OK with dusting off a trick play if the occasion suits it. The mindset, as a defensive guy, is this: If we hit the big play, great. If we don’t, we play defense and make them go three-and-out.
On Sunday night, the backward lateral to Edelman set up the Patriots’ go-ahead touchdown. 
“I say all the time, every year, you have to learn how to win,” Rodgers said. “And we have to learn how to win on the road. We haven’t won yet.”
While the Packers’ offense is trying to find itself, the defense continues to make a play here or there, but it seldom makes the difference.  There are far too turnovers forced and, as we saw last night, when they are riddled with injuries it’s hard to put the outcome of the game on the shoulders of the D.
Mostly, the Packers’ offense is what drives the team.  But they definitely came up short last night.
Right now, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy appears to be searching for something, anything, to get his offense on track. Here’s hoping that he finds it, and soon.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA

Green Bay’s defense shows improvement, but unbeaten Rams still eke out 29-27 win

GREEN BAY, Wis. –  For a player whose poor judgment led him to return a kickoff and fumble away a chance to win, Ty Montgomery showed good sense in refusing to talk afterward.

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Why bother? The tired refrain “my bad” wouldn’t quite cut it.
Not this time. Not after that loss. Not when he was told by his coaches to take a knee, but instead elected to go off script.
Montgomery’s fumble with 1:56 to play sealed the Packers’ fate in a well-played, hard-fought 29-27 loss to the Rams Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Rams (8-0) are unbeaten and untied. The Packers (3-3-1) are neither.
Afterward, Aaron Rodgers echoed the disappointment felt by Packers’ fans. Both believed a game-winning field goal was in reach until the football slipped from Montgomery’s grasp.
“That play didn’t lose the game,” Rodgers said. “But it definitely took away an opportunity for us to go down and win it.”
The game’s abrupt ending was unexpected and unnecessary.
Davante Adams had the game-winning drive all mapped out.
“The game was won,” he said. “I already worked out in my head how everything was going to happen. All we needed was the ball. It’s disappointing. Our defense played a great game against a tough offense, but at the same time we’ve got to finish.”
A reporter asked Adams how much he felt for Montgomery. Frankly, it was a ridiculous question.
“How much do I feel for him?” Adams replied. “Obviously, he’s not trying to fumble the ball, but you’ve got to be smart in situations like that. I know he’ll learn from it, but at the same time that doesn’t change what happened today.”
Perhaps head coach Mike McCarthy will consider bringing return specialist Trevor Davis off injured reserve. Maybe he’ll consider – as I suggested weeks ago – using rookie speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling to return kickoffs.
Or maybe McCarthy will continue to be his stubborn self.
If he stands pat with Montgomery as kick returner it’s a mistake. Montgomery’s too slow to break a big return and he’s unreliable in terms of ball security and doing what he’s told to do.
Meantime, the Packers’ lost opportunity could haunt them. They would’ve been in first place in the NFC North while preparing for a Sunday night game at New England.
Now, they’re scrambling to get back to .500.
Rodgers, who has two late game-winning drives to his credit already this season, appeared to be on track for a third.
He had completed 18 of 30 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown on the day. He’d erased a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives. He was ready to get the Packers into field goal range for the win.
Then he never got the chance.
“The plan there is to stay in the end zone,” McCarthy said.
Sadly, Montgomery’s awful decision killed a chance to capture what could’ve been a season-turning victory. Perhaps the Rams’ defense, led by All-World Aaron Donald, would’ve stymied the Packers’ final drive. Unfortunately we’ll never know.
Clay Matthews, who had his best game of the season, is hopeful that the tough, narrow loss might be a galvanizing moment.
“It better be,” Matthews said. “That’s the best team in the NFL. We hung toe-to-toe with them and had a chance at the end to win it. We’ve got to take that moving forward. I know we lost, but we’ve got to take that capability moving forward.”
Matthews played his best game of the season.
So did the Packers’ defense.
Kenny Clark racked up two sacks and performed like the Pro Bowl player McCarthy said he is.
Blake Martinez had 12 tackles, two for losses, and a sack. This is how good the Rams’ Todd Gurley is: Martinez played him tough and he still rushed for 114 yards and caught six passes for another 81 yards and a touchdown.
Jaire Alexander shadowed the Rams’ Brandin Cooks all day. He finished with an NFL season-high five passes defended and played superbly. If not for Alexander, the Rams’ Jared Goff would’ve had a huge day playing catch with Cooks.
Aaron Jones rushed 12 times for 86 yards and a 33-yard touchdown. However, McCarthy only called his number four times after halftime. One of the four went for the touchdown.
Go figure.
Jones’ talent demands more touches, which would lead to more touchdowns.
Valdes-Scantling hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass with 8:50 to play that put the Packers up 27-26. He has proven he is worthy of an expanded role.
Meantime, the Packers need to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get ready for the Patriots and Tom Brady.
Clearly, there’s no such thing as a moral victory for Rodgers.
“The urgency has to pick up, so maybe it does that,” Rodgers said of the narrow loss. “But there’s no momentum gained from a loss, in my opinion. We can play with anybody, but we knew that before this game. It wasn’t like there was some revelation, ‘Oh, Ok, now, yeah, we can probably play with the Rams.’ No, we can play with anybody.
“I’m disappointed because our defense really played well and we were just really slow going in the first half and couldn’t get a lot of things going. By the time we got back up ahead, we just had one drive to finish the game off and didn’t come up with it.”
The Packers still should contend for the division title, especially with the Vikings (4-3-1) in the midst of a difficult stretch. The Packers’ problem is their margin for error grows slimmer with each opportunity lost.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA

Green Bay faces rugged schedule following bye week adjustments

GREEN BAY, Wis. –  Aaron Rodgers succinctly summed up the Packers’ state of affairs going into and out of their bye.

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“We’re thankful to be 3-2-1 right now and realize what’s in front of us, and how this type of play might not get it done against the next opponents,” he said after the Packers’ narrow 33-30 win over San Francisco on Oct. 16.
“We’ve got to play better.”
Rodgers is correct, of course, but the question remains: How?
Here’s some well-intentioned if unsolicited advice: Go with what you do best, which is throwing the football, tightening up the first-half defense and playing with the lead for a change.
Unless Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has something up his sleeve that’s drastically different than the first six games, it’s the best and perhaps only way to proceed.
The Packers (3-2-1) take on the Rams (7-0) in a 3:25 p.m. game Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Trying to develop a running attack, balance and a grind-it-out approach would be asking too much at this stage. Those decisions are made, implemented and executed in the offseason.
So what are the Packers’ assets?
Rodgers is perhaps the NFL’s best quarterback. Davante Adams is as good a receiver as there is in the league. Jimmy Graham is another legit weapon that’s starting to get in sync with Rodgers.
Aaron Jones and the draw/screen game are going to be essential. Jones is ready to roll and obviously well-rested (sarcasm). He is the best weapon against a pass rush that the Packers possess. McCarthy needs to use Jones within the passing game context. If he has limitations as a pass blocker get the football out quicker.
No matter what happens Rodgers can’t keep getting hit so often. Clearly, the Rams’ defense is going to try to get after Rodgers right from the start. If the Packers fall behind at Los Angeles it’s going to be an incredibly difficult mountain to climb.
Aaron Donald, the Rams’ Pro Bowl defensive tackle, has three sacks this season. That’s by a defensive tackle. The Packers’ team leaders are Blake Martinez and Kyler Fackrell with three each, including all three by Fackrell in a single game.
Can the Packers win a shootout in the Coliseum? It’s possible. After all, the Rams played about as well as they can in a 38-31 victory over Minnesota earlier this season. Rodgers and Co. may need to put up 40 to beat the Rams, difficult but not impossible.
The good news for Green Bay is that Rodgers and the offense average 421 yards per game to rank fourth in the NFL. The bad news is the Rams’ offense is No. 1 at 463 yards per game.
Forty points may not be enough.
Slow starts have been the Packers’ problem all season.
Green Bay’s defense is No. 2 in the league in second-half points allowed, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens. The problem is it’s largely because teams tend to rein it in with a second-half lead. The Packers have been outscored 100-63 in the first half.
The Packers have scored just once on an opening-drive this season. That was the touchdown against the 49ers. It’s a different story in the second half, where Green Bay is 6-for-6 on second half opening drives (four field goals, two touchdowns).
Jones’ presence should help in the red zone, where Green Bay has all but abandoned the running game.
The Packers rank 21st in red zone offense, and 22nd in red zone defense. That double whammy is why they’re 3-2-1.
The Packers are 9-3 coming out of their bye under McCarthy, so they’ve been really good with an extra week to prepare.
Also, the Rams have been running roughshod over opponents. It’s difficult to sustain that dominance all 16 games, and if the Rams aren’t on top of their game Rodgers may make them pay.
Defensively, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bashaud Breeland at cornerback, and Tramon Williams at safety. The Packers worked out two safeties during the bye for a reason. Williams has played safety in defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s scheme in the past, so it wouldn’t be anything new to the veteran.
If you’re going to throw the football and try to play with a lead two things are essential.
First, you need a pass rush, which continues to be a problem. The Packers’ 16 sacks ranks fifth in the NFL, but seven of those came against Buffalo and a rookie quarterback. They’ve got to be better at hitting the opposing quarterback.
Second, you can’t give up big plays on the back end. That’s where Williams and Breeland come in.
Ultimately, I’m picking the Packers to upset the Rams, 41-38, in a game that will rekindle hope in Titletown, USA.
McCarthy’s awful good out of the bye, Rodgers is all-world and the Rams aren’t perfect despite their record. There will be plays to be made for Green Bay. Now is the time to go make them.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA

Despite victory, Green Bay has plenty of work to do during upcoming bye week

GREEN BAY, Wis. –  The heck with the Packers’ bye week.

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It was nearly the “Ba bye” week – as in so long, adios, see you later – if not for Aaron Rodgers’ accuracy, Mason Crosby’s atonement and the Packers’ narrow 33-30 victory over the 49ers Monday night at Lambeau Field.
Trailing 30-23 late in the fourth quarter, Rodgers’ fast-break attack put up 10 points in the final two minutes.
First, Rodgers capped a four-play, 58-yard drive by hitting Davante Adams for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:55 to play.
Then, after a Kevin King interception, Rodgers led a 10-play, 81-yard drive that set up Crosby’s game-winning 27-yard field goal at the final gun.
It was Rodgers and the offense at its finest. It was up-tempo and unstoppable. And it begged the question, “Where was that the first 57 minutes?”
Rodgers threw for 425 yards while hitting 25 of 46 with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 100.4 passer rating. He becomes the first quarterback in Packers’ history to throw for 400-plus yards in back-to-back games. And that’s with a bulky brace on a bum left knee.
Still, Rodgers’ late-game heroics lose a bit of luster as it becomes increasingly evident THIS is how the Packers are going to win, IF they’re going to win.
Whereas the Packers’ late victory against Chicago in the regular-season opener inspired awe, this one engendered relief.
So it is with a sigh, rather than a “sayonara,” that the Packers enter their bye.
No reasonable Packers fan views this win as a cure-all.
On the contrary, it was a much-needed victory that proved to be a microcosm of what’s ailing Green Bay. The Packers’ lack of discipline, be it on penalties or poor technique, is appalling.
Kentrell Brice is a huge liability at safety. It appears he doesn’t know what being “deeper than the deepest (receiver)” means. Perhaps he should find out what being “deeper than the deepest” on the bench means.
It’s harsh but true, especially because his poor play has detracted from an otherwise decent defensive secondary. Let’s be real. The Packers’ pass rush proved to be almost non-existent, again. They managed just two sacks and four hits on C.J. Beathard.
That has to get better.
Green Bay also had six penalties for 54 yards against the 49ers. It may not sound like much, but that’s only because Beathard threw an interception on their final possession. That drive began at the 49ers’ 47-yard line after the Packers’ Tony Brown drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on the kickoff.
Why Brown remains on the team is a mystery. There are 31 other teams in the NFL. Let him find gainful employment elsewhere. Is he that valuable that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is willing to overlook not one, but two incredibly selfish penalties?
Brown shouldn’t have been on the roster, let alone the field, Monday night. If he remains on the team beyond the bye week it’s on McCarthy. Too many mistakes, such as continuing to play undisciplined or selfish players, add up to too many losses.
There are positives to take away.
Rodgers, who took yet another pounding, managed to stay in one piece until the bye. Undoubtedly he will use his time off wisely to come back and face the gauntlet: Four road trips in a five-game stretch beginning at the Rams and at the Patriots.
While Rodgers heals, Crosby can take a deep breath and relax. The Packers’ kicker rebounded after missing four field goals and a PAT at Detroit by going 4-for-4 including the game-winner.
“That’s exactly the way you want to see it end,” McCarthy said afterward. “Frankly, I wish he didn’t need to kick as many field goals as he did tonight, but yeah, definitely, that was a big bounce-back game for Mason and really for our football team. We needed that win.”
Adams, who caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, was almost unstoppable. He was grateful for the ‘W’ but could do without the late-game drama.
“Winning is all that matters but definitely I don’t want to have a heart attack each week,” Adams said.
Adams’ young counterparts came up big. Marquez Valdes-Scantling had three catches for 103 yards, including a 60-yard bomb on the Packers’ opening play. Equanimeous St. Brown and J’Mon Moore also added a crucial catch each.
Meantime, Aaron Jones and the running game remain largely an afterthought, or so it seems.
Jones had 41 yards on eight carries with a long run of 16 yards. It came on his first carry of the game. After that, McCarthy acted like the Packers were playing behind by two scores.
The Packers need to find a run-pass balance for two reasons:
** First, it would give its defense a breather while moving the chains. Perhaps Green Bay’s defense is what it is – which is to say, it’s average at best – but that might be good enough in today’s NFL to give you a shot at a championship.
** Second, it would keep Rodgers upright. The Packers need to run the football more, period. The play-action pass can buy Rodgers the time his beat-up left knee can’t until it heals.
Rodgers was pleased but kept the win in perspective.
“I don’t know if it was a season-saving win for us, but definitely was an important one,” he said. “Especially with the prognosticating that will go on about the type of opponents we have coming up the next few weeks, and obviously them being road games, this was an important game for us.”
Rodgers sounded like realist, adding, “We’ll take a good, hard look at this and take a look at what we did well our first six weeks. We’re a couple plays away from being 4-2, 5-1, and definitely a couple plays from being the other way.
“So we’re thankful to be 3-2-1 right now and realize what’s in front of us, and how this type of play might not get it done against the next opponents. We’ve got to play better.”