A Big Reason the Packers Won Today

If he wasn't a wussy he could have made that tackle in bounds.

 

Nobody is arguing that Rodgers isn't an elite QB. This isn't news. He did what we expected him to do.

The problem is we essentially aided him in beating us thanks to our inept coaching.

And we can't very well ignore our first half offense either.

 

Said it before and I'll say it again...

http://www.thephins.com/forums/show...act-What-did-you-expect&p=2413104#post2413104

The Miami Dolphins have this incredible ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

Agree 100% Brandon. We either have the most arrogant coach in the NFL, to give the ball back to Rogers with 2+ minutes or the most stupid. After watching him for 2+ seasons I think I know which one is closer to the truth.

We're back at square one - we need a QB and a Head Coach, and we've wasted 3 more seasons of Cam Wake.

 

For Rodgers to have the ball within a one score margin of victory, with an adaquate measure of time to manage a game closing possession,
is ultimately the weekly objective for GB's coaching staff, just as it would be for others around the league with similar talent at QB.

Consequently, the goal of our coaching staff, along with nearly any other team facing such a prolific QB, was to disrupt the opponent's ability to achieve those conditions.
Joe Philbin's approach in opting to allow the defense end the game, didn't interfere with GBs objective, but wholeheartedly embraced it.

 

This times 1,000

 

I am not disappointed in this game. The team showed heart and played well. It was an entertaining and competitive game.

 

Metrics and stats aside, we lost because our DEFENSE gave up a game winning drive from a superior team...simple as that. It's not about what Tanny should have or Hartline or Wallace...gee, no one has talked about our once again putrid run game. The OL woes reared their ugly heads and our D gave up a game winning drive...it's pretty simple to see why we lost that game...

 

Seriously, I thought we lost because they scored more points than us in the end, but this thread explains everything!

 

I give Finnegan credit for being smart enough to at least try to drag the guy in bounds, but he got outplayed, simple as that. The people saying he should have simply corralled the receiver to the middle of the field are being ridiculous, it goes against everything he's ever been taught and I don't believe I've ever seen a defender attempt such a thing.

 

OP is 100% correct and the stats back up what I saw with my eyes, which was one of the greatest QB'ing performances I've ever seen. I mean, did Rodgers throw a single errant pass? If the Packers would have lost their fans would have had reason to be outraged, you have the best QB in the league on one of his better days, you have a big advantage in time of possession and turnover margin and you lose with that? In fact, they were dependent on our crappy QB to not make a play in order to even have a chance at the victory.

There were no obvious strategic mistakes by the coaches in the final three minutes, or over the entire game. Having several opportunities to win the game against a hall of fame QB playing at a hall of fame level is actually a great accomplishment.

Everybody loves to second guess coaching decisions and I would bet there is a pretty significant percentage of fans both complaining about not passing it on third down yesterday and complaining that we didn't run it on the play against Buffalo that resulted in the sack/strip/turnover. If you are one of those people you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

What was Tannehill's rating in the second half? What are the metrics for winning if you look at only the second half? Point is, Tannehill played lights out in the second, and put the Dolphins in a position to win.

 

If he attempted that tackle I think he would have whiffed and the Packers score anyways. Our cornerbacks were that soft yesterday...

 

Do you stop watching most games before the last 2 minutes of each half?

N.B. I'm not trying to be an ***, but it's pretty common strategy to keep a guy in bounds by any means necessary when the other team is up against the clock with no timeouts. It happens regularly, and anybody teaching otherwise gets results like the Dolphins got on Sunday on a regular basis.

 

I've never seen a defender not try to make a tackle but instead simply herd the receiver into the middle of the field. Never. And I watch a lot of games. Finnegan could have done a better job at making the tackle and keeping the guy in bounds but its absolutely ridiculous to say his job was simply to make sure that guy didn't get out of bounds. If that were true we could design a new fangled defensive scheme where we just put a whole bunch of DBs in a box around the sidelines and force them to throw it over the middle.

 

After Phibin brushed off Coyle in the first half, Coyle ultimately sabataged Philbin. We were outscored 10-0 in the final 4 minutes and Rodgers had that unheard of WPA because our D and coaches got abused. It came to that because of our not converting a 1st and Goal on the 5 yard line into points, 2 stupid targets to Hartline who does zero fighting for the ball and 2 ints, the Defense zero turnovers, playcalling on offense and defense that would allow 10 pts in 4 minutes and the list of xxups goes on and on and will continue to go on and on with this head coach.

 

Innovative. We could solve our coaching problem right here. I was definitely suggesting that I had a new and powerful idea. Apparently, "protect the boundary" is a brand new concept and I just invented it.


My point was, Finnegan didn't have to make a perfect tackle and he didn't have to worry about form. Once the guy caught the ball, Finnegan's job was to protect the sideline. According to you--and others--he was to view himself as the last line of defense? Get the guy down on the ground with a perfect tackle or else? Sometimes an imperfect tackle can serve the purpose of slowing a guy down or redirecting him.

If a player is out there, particularly in zone coverage, he is always aware that he has teammates. Have you ever seen one defender hold a guy up while another defender strips the ball? Is defender A negligent in his duties? Should we form a defense where everybody just holds somebody up or can we agree that situations change what you do on the field?

In Finnegan's situation, his first thought needs to be "keep him in bounds and the game is over." If his thought is "I need to make a perfect tackle or we're screwed," then he doesn't trust his teammates. Get in the guy's way and grab him. Start moving him away from the sideline. If you succeed and tackle him, the game is over. If you fail but at least slow the guy down, a teammate will be over to help you clean up in a second. If you whiff, people will be talking about it on message boards for days to come.

Of all people on that defense, Finnegan seems to me like he'd be pretty good at getting in someone's way. Apparently, I was wrong.

 

...and there it is.

 

The way I saw it was he tried to tackle him in bounds, he tried to drag him down inside, the receiver simply outplayed him. It happens all the time in football, the defensive player tries to do something and the offensive player simply is able to out-hustle, out-duke, out-muscle the defender. That is what happened here. He tried to make the tackle, he did a poor job, it was poor form, hence the extra yards gained on the sideline, and that was probably all aided by the fake spike. It is what it is.

People also need to keep in mind that Finnegan has the same dimensions as Grimes, almost exact, he just looks stronger for whatever reason.

 

he did try to get outside containment for a brief second, but the offensive player had to much built up speed to overcome..finnegn messed up no matter how you slice it, it was the definition of how not to play in that situation, they should make a video.