RANTS & RAVES
RANT
So much for the “next man up” philosophy in the Packers’ backfield. First, it was AaronJones, drafted in the fifth round, stepping in for injured starter Ty
Montgomery. Then last week in Chicago, fourth-round pick Jamaal Williams came on when Jones and Montgomery were sidelined and carried 20 times for 67 yards. When Williams needed a breather Sunday, it was seventh-round pick Devante Mays’ turn, but that’s where the Packers’ feel-good story ends. Mays lost a fumble on his first NFL carry and wasn’t seen again until garbage time (when he immediately fumbled again). Instead of using the ground game to take some heat off Hundley, the Packers ran the ball only twice in the first quarter. McCarthy admitted afterward that he lost confidence in Mays after the fumble and didn’t want to over-extend Williams, whom he called the “one halfback I believed in.” Williams was limited to 57 yards on 18 carries but added four catches for 37 yards.
RAVE
A whiff of explosiveness finally returned to the Packers’ passing game in Chicago when Hundley and Adams connected on a 19-yard TD pass and a clutch 42-yard bomb on a key third-down play. Against the Ravens, Adams again was a shining light on an otherwise dismal day for the offense, catching eight passes for 126 yards. It was a season-high for Packers receivers and more proof that resigning Adams before he hits free agency needs to be one of general manager
Ted Thompson’s top priorities.
RANT
On a day when nothing McCarthy tried seemed to work, the Packers continually found themselves on the short end of the field-position battle. Only once did the Packers begin a possession in Baltimore territory (and then only because of an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Ravens for "verbally abusing an official"), while the Ravens' offense started five drives in Green Bay territory.
RANT
There were plenty of depressing sights for the Packers, but the worst may have been seeing second-year defensive tackle Kenny Clark carted off the field with an ankle injury after his right leg was rolled up on early in the fourth quarter. Clark's emergence has been one of the season's few bright spots.
Clay Matthews, who recorded his first sack since Week 4 in the first quarter, also was knocked out of the game with a groin injury. Right tackle Justin McCray left with a third-quarter knee injury and was replaced by 2016 second-round pick Jason Spriggs, who was rusty and ineffective after returning from the injured reserve list.