Sam's Grading the Pack Week 6: Aaaaand It Was the Worst of Times
Why must bad things happen to good people? I hate when a team is essentially reliant on a single player, as the NFL is a health-hazardous league, but the Green Bay Packers proved they were exactly that after Aaron Rodgers went down. They were only down by one score, but with no run game and Brett Hundley throwing three interceptions and tallying a Jay Cutler-like 39.6 Passer Rating, this offense was doomed once #12 hit the ground hard. The defense wasn't awful, that is when they weren't racking up penalties or injuries. Blake Martinez once again had a double-digit tackle game, and bad boy Damarious Randall nabbed another pick, but it wasn't enough to be out-yarded by triple digits and out-scored by double digits by their NFC North rival. Also, we seriously couldn't get a single sack?
OVERALL: C
Offense: C- QB/RB: D+ WR/TE: B- OL: D+
Defense: C+ DL: B- LB: B- DB: C+ Special Teams: B-
BEST GRADE: A-: Davante Adams, WR; and Kenny Clark, DT
First off, I don't like when the best grade is below a true "A", but that goes to show how rough this game was for the Pack. Davante Adams stood out as the best player on the offensive front simply by scoring the only touchdown. His five receptions for 54 yards on a whopping 10 targets doesn't look great on the stat sheet, but if you watched the game, you know it has nothing to do with Adams. On almost all of the five missed targets, Brett Hundley couldn't get within five yards of Davante. On the defensive side, Kenny Clark put up the second-best game from any defensive lineman all season (Week 1 Mike Daniels was a monster). Clark had a forced fumble, 1.5 tackles for loss and a few other tackles stopping the running back within a couple yard of the line of scrimmage. He's a major reason why Latavius Murray only had 1.9 Yards per Carry. If the pass defense could come up with, oh I don't know, maybe a single sack, this came could have ended a lot differently.
WORST GRADE: D-: Brett Hundley, QB
If the quarterback who plays the majority of a game gets the worst grade on the whole team, then you're never going to win that game. I'm just surprised it wasn't an offensive lineman (I'm looking at you, Justin McCray). Hundley just couldn't throw the ball, which is kind of important if you're a quarterback. Even on his touchdown pass, the ball was wobbly and Davante Adams did all the work. Sure, it was an unexpected trial by fire, but if you can't even throw a spiral to an open receiver, that's not a valid excuse. Between Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams alone, he had nine missed targets. He ended the day with 157 yards, less than 60% completion rate, an easy touchdown and three dumb interceptions with a QBR of 9.5 and a Passer Rating of 39.6. That's not good. That's concerning moving forward with Aaron Rodgers likely out for the season and three offensive linemen picking up injuries.
Honorable Mentions: B+: Clay Matthews, OLB; Blake Martinez, MLB; and Mason Crosby, K
Clay Matthews had a clutch fumble recovery and overall did a decent job in the run game. I expected more from him in the pass rush, but I could say that about everyone who played in the box. Blake Martinez had 11 Tackles, racking up another double digit tackle game and providing a plug in an often-used gap in the run defense (see Ezekiel Elliott, Devonte Freeman, etc.) Mason Crosby made an extra point, two field goals and prevented Marcus Sherels from making any big play kick returns. That, coming off of his atrocious game last week, was much needed.
MVP Watch: There was no touchdown catch this week, but Jordy Nelson did his best with what Brett Hundley threw at him, good enough for a B and to keep his season GPA up in first place at 3.63. Davante Adams pushes up to 2nd at a 3.41 clip, and while Aaron Rodgers is now sitting in third at 3.36, his season-ending injury will disqualify from any MVP talks, making Blake Martinez the bronze medalist (3.28 GPA) moving forward.
STATS OVERVIEW:
Passing = Hundley: D- (18/33, 157 Yds, 1 TD, 3 INT; 1 Rush, 3 Yds) Rodgers: C (2/4, 18 Yds)
Rushing = A. Jones: C- (13 Rush, 41 Yds); Montgomery: C- (10 Rush, 28 Yds)
Receiving = Adams: A+ (5 Rec, 54 Yds, 1 TD); Nelson: B (6 Rec, 60 Yds); Cobb: B- (3 Rec, 28 Yds), Bennett: C+ (2 Rec, 22 Yds)
Defense = 1 INTs (Randall), 0 Sacks, 1 Fumble Forced (Clark), 1 Fumble Recovery (Matthews)
Question? Comments? Concerns? General Feedback? Will the Packers even make the playoffs anymore? Please let me know!
Thank you and God Bless,
Samuel R. Fuller
