Oct 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a pass against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeated Green Bay 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

“Luck outplays The MVP” … “Is Luck more Clutch than Rodgers?” … “Luck the next Rodgers? No he’s better”

I have been reading headline after headline, and each seem more ridiculous than the last.

It’s time to set the record straight

Say all you want about Dom Capers and his suspect defense, our leaky offensive Line, or lack of a running game and you will hear no argument from me.

Say Andrew Luck outplayed Aaron Rodgers, or that he is more clutch then Aaron Rodgers and those are fighting words!

Yes, Luck brought his team back from being down 21-0 in just his fourth professional game and while that was impressive, it does not mean he outplayed Rodgers.

Don’t just take it from me, let’s look at the numbers.

Rodgers, who seemed to be under constant pressure most of the game threw for 243 yards, 3 touchdowns, completed 64 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 103.5. He was also Green Bay’s leading rusher with 57 yards.

Luck, while pressured early, forgot what a pass rush was during the second half (and no one on Green Bay reminded him). As a result he had a career high 362 yards, but threw the ball 55 times, completed 56 percent of his passes and had only a 81.0 passer rating.

Sometimes stats can be misleading. This is not one of those times.

Rodgers played outstanding considering the circumstances. He was also without three starters on offense (four if you count Jordy Nelson’s magical disappearing act in the second half).

There were communication problems, penalties, sacks, you name it. Despite all this, Rodgers still drove his team 47 yards in the final 35 seconds to give them a chance to send the game into overtime.

Unfortunately, like his offensive line, receivers, and entire defense, Mason Crosby let him down, too … et tu Brute?

Luck made some good plays, and it was a great story, one for Hollywood. But it was a team effort by the Colts, not Luck, that outplayed Rodgers and wrote this script.

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Is Charles Woodson a step behind these days and is it becoming a problem? Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

I admit it right here – I didn’t watch the Packers vs. Colts game yesterday.

Not because I didn’t want to, but because I was on the road. I spent the weekend in Chicago with my family and had to resort to an in and out signal from the Colts radio network for my fix of the game.

I was only able to catch the first and last quarters – what turned out to be the best and worst of the game.

I guess I didn’t miss much of anything good in between. From what I’ve been reading today, there are people gathering in two camps – the pessimists who are already writing the Packers off  and the optimists who are pointing to the 2010 season when the Packers had that rough start, barely made the playoffs and then went on to win the Super Bowl.

I want to be an optimist, but find myself leaning toward the pessimistic side only because it tends to be more realistic.

While there are similarities between this year’s Packers squad and the one that took the field in 2010, there is a major difference – the defense.

Since that season when the Packers won the Super Bowl, the defense has been atrocious – even last year when Aaron Rodgers carried the Packers to a 15-1 record, it was the defense that was the letdown, the weak chink in the Packers armor.

It hasn’t changed this year even though the addition of a slew of talented rookies promised improvement.

So, what’s the difference?

Dom Capers.

In his first couple of seasons, his squads were impressive because they were aggressive and confusing to opposing offenses.

Not anymore. Offenses across the league have figured Capers out and he hasn’t provided any wrinkles, any changes, any creativity to counter. What we see is a decent attack of the running (for the most part) forcing teams into third down and long situations. Then the Packers go into that old prevent defense where they rush three and sink eight into a zone.

When the Packers lack of pressure allows quarterbacks to stand in the pocket like the Statue of Liberty, it’s all over. Quarterbacks have been able to pick the secondary apart for huge gains.

So, what’s the answer? Is it time to ask for Capers’ head? Maybe, maybe not. I don’t envy Ted Thompson in this situation, but he’s got to know that whatever the Packers are doing on the field isn’t working consistently.

Maybe the Packers talent level on defense isn’t as good as everyone thinks. Maybe Charles Woodson is getting old. Maybe Nick Perry is still two to three years away. Maybe the Packers do really miss Nick Collins.

Regardless, the Packers have to figure this out and do it quickly. Heading to Houston next week to play the Texans is a huge chore and they will have to put together two halves, not just one like they did against the Colts.

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Oct 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Cassius Vaughn (32) breaks up a pass intended for Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (87) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

By Bill Walton

The Packers came up short in a tough three-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts this afternoon.

The score does not tell the story.

In fact, the score could well have been more like 41-30 in favor of the Packers. Dropped passes, dropped interceptions, and missed opportunities marred a game that, on paper, should have been a romp for the Packers over the Colts.

As they say, that’s why they play the games.

But look a little closer and it’s easy to see how the Packers played, and lost, this game.

Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams both had their hands on passes that they could, maybe even should, have picked off.  Missed tackles in both the backfield and downfield seemed to come at the worst possible times, allowing the Colts to sustain offensive drives.

The Packers secondary allowed Colts WR Reggie Wayne to have the best game (13 catches for 212 yards and a touchdown) of his long career. It seemed whenever the Colts needed a big pass play, Wayne was somehow open.

A sack fumble by Nick Perry was rightly, if not popularly ruled roughing because Perry hit Andrew Luck with his helmet first. Pre-snap penalties also came at inopportune times and kept Colts drives alive or slowed down Packers drives.

The Packers offensive line allowed Rodgers to be sacked too many times, including twice in a row during their next-to-final drive of the game. Rodgers also coughed up another interception when he tried to force the ball to Finley on the sidelines.

Packers receivers dropped passes that were catchable. Packers cornerback Sam Shields, whose tackling and pass defense were both improved in this game, was wrongly called for defensive pass interference, lending more credence to the concept that NFL referees, replacement or regular, need to be sent back to school for remedial OPI/DPI instruction.

Three packers were injured and did not return to the game. Running back Cedrick Benson (ankle), defensive tackle B.J. Raji (lower leg), and tight end Jermichael Finley (shoulder) all went down in the game. And two missed field goals, one early in the second half and one that could have tied the game and sent it to overtime, were opportunities missed.

This game certainly featured some positive plays for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers used his wheels to pick up several long gains, and led the team in rushing.

When Rodgers had time to throw he was able to work the ball downfield. His second quarter touchdown pass to Randall Cobb was a great pass only a few quarterbacks could make.  Running back Alex Green had a nice 41-yard run to set up the final Packers touchdown.

Defensive lineman Mike Neal, added to the roster after coming off his suspension, logged his fist sack of the season. Punter Tim Masthay had another solid game, at one point launching a punt that went 70 yards in the air from the Packers end zone and averaging 43.3 net yards on seven punts in the game.

Rookie cornerback Casey Hayward picked off a pass intended for Reggie Wayne to stop a Colts drive late. Charles Woodson had a couple of big passes defensed, as did Tramon Williams and Shields. And we got to yell KUUUUUHHHN as John Kuhn scored the Packers first touchdown on the ground behind the left side of the offensive line.

It’s easy to say, and some will, that the Colts didn’t beat the Packers – the Packers beat the Packers. The feeling during the first half was that despite some problems, they were able to overcome and the Packers had control of the game.

Leading 21-3 at halftime and with possession first in the second half, the Packers should have come out and run off a long drive to go up 28-3. Then they could have kept the pressure on with a strong lead.

That didn’t happen.

Rather, the Colts did everything they needed to do to pull this game out. With a couple of exceptions, notably the two-play go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, especially on offense the Packers looked like a different team, with problems they couldn’t overcome, in the second half.  That is what happened.

There is room for improvement.  The Packers know it.  The fans know it.

Here’s to making those improvements, because they’ll be needed when the Packers visit Houston next Sunday night to take on the 4-0 Texans.

GO PACK!

The editor of that fine fansided.com site tells us below.

Check it out before kickoff.

By J.M. NICHOLAS

The Indianapolis Colts will face a tall task, both mentally and physically, when they take the field against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Not only will the Colts be facing one of the best teams in the NFL, they will be doing it without their head coach. Coach Chuck Pagano will be sidelined for most of the season, after recently being diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia. The Colts will do their best to try and win one for Chuck, but it will take more than motivation to best Green Bay.

The Packers come into Lucas Oil Stadium ready to stomp on a Colts team that has looked less-than stellar so far this season.

The Colts secondary is beat-up and thin, which could prove poisonous against one of the most high-powered offenses in the league. The NFL MVP and his deadly stable of receivers could possibly pick apart a depleted Colts defense early and often.

Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews already has seven sacks in four games, which is more than he had all of last season. A Rookie quarterback and a suspect offensive line could easily buckle underneath the barrage from Green Bay.

Andrew Luck might put up some good fantasy numbers in garbage time, but it may be too little and too late. Despite the oppositions form interim head coach Bruce Arians, the Cheese Heads could very well swamp over and clamp down upon this young Colts team at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

Prediction – Packers 33, Colts 19

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Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji (90) must give the Packers defense a boost today against the Colts and Andrew Luck. Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

By Jerry Bulone

Why is everyone worried about the Green Bay Packers‘ offense this year?

Last time I checked we had the reigning MVP, great weapons, and now a workhorse back. Believe me, the Packers will be fine.

Even if someone was going to stop us this week, it wouldn’t be the Indianapolis Colts. The only way to truly stop Aaron Rodgers is to pressure him, early and often.

The Colts are ranked twenty-third in sacks and may be missing Dwight Freeney. They are also missing two contributors of their secondary. Dan Devine’s early 70s Packers teams could throw on the Colts this Sunday.

So the only real question is on the defensive side.  The Packers defense gave up only 467 yards passing combined the first three games of the season only to give up 446 to Brees and his Saints last Sunday.

Why did this happen?

It’s pretty simple, the Saints were the first team the Packers faced that could throw the football well (before that, the best was the Bears, currently ranked twenty-fourth). Lucky for us the Colts are more like our first three opponents than the Saints.

Finally there is the “win one for the gipper” factor. My heart goes out to Coach Pagano. That being said, I always felt this was a little overrated.

As a former player (Division 2 college …. still counts) I can atest that most players forget about everything outside the sidelines once the whistle blows. However, you do have extreme circumstances (Favre against the Raiders, for one), and this would certianly qualify as such.

BOTTOM LINE – The Colts will be motivated, but they just don’t have the Horses … yet.

Score 35-24 PackersFive things guaranteed to happen:

1. Aaron Rodgers QB rating will be greater than 100;

2. Andrew Luck will throw for 300 yards or more;

3. Cedric Benson will make you forget even more about James Starks, or any other running back on the roster;

4. Packers defense will create more than one turnover; and

5. One defensive lineman for the Colts will imitate the “belt” celebration after sacking Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers will be key to the Packers avoiding a trap game against the Indianapolis Colts

By Bill Walton

The Packers take their roadshow to Indianapolis on Sunday to face the Colts.

At 1-2 and coming off their early-season bye week, the Colts should not be looked upon as anything other than a dangerous, perhaps even desperate, team. The old “any given Sunday” adage certainly seems to fit this game. Several Colts starters are out with injuries. Unable to go for the Packers game are cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Justin King, linebacker Pat Angerer, and guards Joe Reitz and Seth Olsen. Linebacker Dwight Freeney is questionable and doesn’t think he can go. Indy’s first-year head coach Chuck Pagano is undergoing treatment for Leukemia.

The emotional impact of Pagano’s absence from the game may be an underappreciated intangible in the Colts’ favor. Hurting both physically and emotionally, the Colts will probably be overmatched physically but their intensity level will probably be sky-high.

The Packers come into the Colts game with a 2-2 record. With only receiver Greg Jennings ruled out for the game they are as healthy as they have been all season. Jennings’ absence will mean that the remaining receivers, widely judged to be the best crew in the NFL, will have to pick up the slack. They have done so in the past. The offense can also rely on their newfound ability to reliably run the football, courtesy of one Cedric Benson. Aaron Rodgers should be able to work the ball to his receivers downfield effectively thanks to a vulnerable Colts pass defense. The Packers defense, tested but not bested by Drew Brees and New Orleans last week, will face rookie quarterback Andrew Luck. Veteran safety Charles Woodson has had consistent success playing against rookie quarterbacks. The defense in general has shown a much-improved pass rush. Tackling has also improved. It all adds up to what, at least on paper, seems like a beatdown coming down in Indianapolis this weekend. As long as the Packers don’t play “down” to the level of their opponent, they should come out of this game at 3-2 looking up at Houston next Sunday night.

One interesting news item coming out of Indy is that interim head coach Bruce Arians has expressed concern about how well the Packers fans travel when the Packers are on the road.

This has been illustrated many times over the years. It’s not uncommon to hear chants of “Go Pack GO” and loud cheering for successful Packers plays in road stadiums around the league. Arians probably needs to try to control what he can control. Packer fans travel well. They’ll show up in droves, and they’ll try to take over Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. Deal with it.

On a personal note, good luck, spirits up, and fight’s on to Chuck Pagano. Your most important fight has just begun, but it’s a fight you can win.