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Re: If we had played tonight.....
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:30 am
by mansquatch
Mothman wrote:
They're very talented at WR. I wouldn't say the Vikings roster is better than Green Bay's (certainly not much better) but there's a comparable level of talent. It's just distributed differently.
The GB WR are talented, but I think Rogers is the lynch pin. If he goes down, they go with him. IMO none of the GM WR are elite WR talentwise. There is no Calvin Johnson or Brandon Marshall player that is just sick out there. The issue they pose is that on any given down you have to defend 3-5 above average to good WR. It basically becomes a college spread style offense where your nickel CB and S all have to be good enough to cover a #2 quality WR. If they are not, Rogers finds it and you pay. Or your double up somebody, like Jennings, and then you have a #2 quality WR vs. a LB. Again, Rogers finds it and you pay.
In this repsect I wonder if Jennings leaving will hurt them since you have to think that the next man up isn't going to be as solid as Jennings thus overall defending their passing game will not be as onerous. (But still a tall order)
Re: If we had played tonight.....
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:59 am
by Mothman
mansquatch wrote:The GB WR are talented, but I think Rogers is the lynch pin. If he goes down, they go with him. IMO none of the GM WR are elite WR talentwise. There is no Calvin Johnson or Brandon Marshall player that is just sick out there.
One of the reasons for that is because, as you said, they force teams to defend a corps of good receivers on almost any given down and consequently, they don't rely heavily on one star receiver. The opportunity to catch 11+ passes and put up "sick" numbers isn't really there because they're loaded with talent and Rodgers spreads the ball around, exploiting matchups rather than leaning on a single star receiver. A few years ago, I think Jennings had that kind of elite talent (and he's still very good) but he didn't put really elite stats because he was playing in an offense that could attack and hurt defenses in so many ways.
As you said, Rodgers is crucial to their offense. Of course, QB performance is going to be crucial in any elite passing offense but his ability to find and exploit the best matchup play after play is exceptional.
In this repsect I wonder if Jennings leaving will hurt them since you have to think that the next man up isn't going to be as solid as Jennings thus overall defending their passing game will not be as onerous. (But still a tall order)
I hope it hurts them! I want to see Green Bay fall out of first place in the division and stay out.