Are we looking at two straight weeks of a good RPO game from the Packers? Brothers and sisters, we sure are. Are we writing this on a Friday night, knowing full well no one will read it? We absolutely are.
The Throw Rate of 25% comes in slightly over the season average of 22.6%, but much higher than the 7.7% we saw in week 9. Which is fine, because the passing portion didn’t do very much. A couple decent gains - including one that saw Jayden Reed fight for 6 yards on 1st & 10 - but the Swing pass that was stopped for a loss dings the overall passing numbers.
And sure, the rushing numbers are bolstered by the 40 yard gain, but that’s a good thing! All season, I’ve talked about how the Packers were having issues generating explosives in the run game, which is why I wanted them to lean a little heavier into RPOs.
Now…
The RPO portion is not what caused that 40 yard gain. No, the 40 yard gain was a product of perfect blocking at the point of attack and a single-high safety screaming straight down to the middle of the line. So, while I will take a victory lap, please know that I fully understand that I do not deserve it.
I ended up doing a little late-night film session on the Dillon run, as you can plainly see.
Man, Counter and Power doing some work. Two run concepts with pullers. The offensive line hasn’t been able to get much movement this year - and they’ve had their share of tangled feet when pulling - but they’ve looked much better over the last couple of weeks. Really looking forward to seeing how that looks going forward.
On the topic of runs with RPO tags vs. runs with no RPO tags…
Build the running offense out of RPOs for the rest of the season. Christian Watson is a very good blocker in the run game, but the other receivers are below average (at best) at this point. They’re better used as decoys: or, at the very least, as passing options away from the point of attack on the run. Next year you can focus on the pure running game. This year? It’s RPO season, babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
Alright man. What else did I get into this week?
As always, I got a chance to sit down with John Kuhn and talk about football. (No matter how many times I type that sentence, it still feels insane.) We walked through 3 plays of Jayden Reed and talked about what he has been in this offense.
We then spent a few minutes talking about something that has long been on my mind: game scripts. We talked about the idea of “the first 15,” how a coach views them, what the purpose is, etc.
For the last 4 years or so, the idea has burned into my brain. I know it’s not just the first 15 plays of the game: it’s typically the first 15, excluding 3rd/4th down & red zone plays. So it may really be the first 25-30 plays. But I’ve always been curious about how hard-and-fast that rule is. Do they run the 15 regardless? Is it more of a fact-finding mission or a “let’s put our best stuff out there in a somewhat controlled environment than build off of that” type of situation? Or does it vary by coach? I figured this was my chance to ask that question to someone who would really know, and I learned a lot. I should probably just quit now.
I did some videos on my own, as well. The AJ Dillon one is above, but I did a couple others.
I looked at the big completion to Jayden Reed on the Packers last drive. I went through the concept, the defensive coverage, and why Love threw to Reed.
I also looked at the big completion to Luke Musgrave up the seam. Again, I looked at the offensive concept, the defensive scheme and the decision-making of Love.
For Packer Report, I wrote about a cool triple-option RPO the Packers showed against the Steelers. They ran it twice - both of them were runs for 3 yards - but it’s a really cool look that I’m looking forward to seeing going forward.
For Cheesehead TV, I wrote about the Packers passing game against the Steelers, then looked at a couple fun plays from the week. I looked at the long TD to Reed…
…the quasi-RB screen to Jones…
…and a cool cheat-motion idea opposite a screen.
Obviously there are more words walking through all of these on CHTV, so definitely check that out.
The Packers lost this week - as we all know - but LaFleur continues to show some really cool stuff and the offense seems to be rounding into form. Fewer mental lapses. More consistency. I’m really excited to see what they for the rest of the year.