Railbird Central : Nick Barnett

Blue, red & cow chips in Packers '09 win vs. Cowboys

Brian Carriveau — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:50:00 GMT

Designating blue chips, red chips and cow chips is our way of analyzing each game's winners and losers for the Packers. So without further ado...

Charles Woodson -- It borders on offensive how little credit Charles Woodson gets from the national media. He not only deserves to be a starter in the Pro Bowl, he deserves to be first team All-Pro, and I'd go as far as saying he's the best cornerback in the NFL. His stats are un-freaking-believable: a sack, two forced fumbles, two tackles for a loss, a pass defensed and an interception that iced the victory. He also led the team in tackles with nine. And the way he tackles is one of the most impressive things about him. He's a linebacker trapped inside a cornerback's body. If an open field tackle needs to be made, Woodson isn't missing the tackle.
Aaron Rodgers -- The stats aren't eye popping, but he cooly directed a victory against a good team. Rodgers only had one passing touchdown, but once again, he didn't turn the ball over, which has been of amazing importance this season. Perhaps the best part of his game was his third down conversions when the game was still on the line. "I simply can not say enough about the two big-time third down throws Rodgers made, first to Greg Jennings and then to Donald Lee, on the deciding drive," writes Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV. "Those two throws are the ones that people have been hammering him for not making and he flat-out stuck them last night. Both Jennings and Lee were well covered and Rodgers, ice flowing in his veins, put the ball exactly where it needed to be – where only his guy could catch it." His rushing touchdown only adds to the solid day.

Nick Barnett -- I've been saying for weeks that Barnett continues to get better week in and week out as he comes back from a season ending knee injury and he gets more comfortable with the 3-4 defensive scheme. The scary thing? He hasn't plateaued yet. Barnett continued his solid play with two sacks, two tackles for a loss, two quarterback hurries and a tackle for a loss. And for the first time this year, the Packers applied consistent pressure up the middle with blitzing inside linebackers. Barnett played with a high motor and kept after the quarterback even after being knocked off-route.
Clay Matthews -- Amazingly, Matthews only had one tackle on the afternoon, but he made his presence felt in other ways. In addition to his lone sack, he had a quarterback hurry and showed a nose for the football with two fumble recoveries. He displayed un-ending hustle and was a thorn in Tony Romo's side for most of the afternoon. With more games like these, Matthews could be a candidate for the NFL's defensive rookie of the year award.

Mason Crosby -- Crosby only missed one field goal on the day, but it's his season long performance that has earned him today's cow chip. Including yesterday's snafu, the Packers kicker is now one of five on the season from 50 plus yards. Kicks from 50 yards or more are, obviously, the hardest to make, but there are plenty of college kickers that can convert with over 20 percent accuracy. Worst of all, Crosby's misses have left the Packers with poor field position, and the defense in particular with a short field to defend.
Jeremy Kapinos -- The punting unit held dynamic return man Patrick Crayton in check most of the afternoon, but it was of no thanks to Kapinos. He had an adequate enough 43.7-yard gross average, but only 35 yards when it came to the net. One reason for that was continued poor hang time, and another was a touchback that could have been downed inside the 20 yard line.

The silver lining: Nick Barnett

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:43:05 GMT

Our regular season feature called "The silver lining" is back. Following losses, it's a bright spot from an otherwise gloomy game. After wins, it's an unexpected performance. This week's silver lining is:

Nick Barnett

Count me among the doubters. I'm sorry I doubted you, Nick.

I didn't think Barnett would be able to heal and adequately contribute to the Packers defense this season. Learning an entirely new defensive scheme is one thing, and when you add an injury on top of that, things didn't look optimistic.

I though Barnett would struggle through all of 2009, and once his knee finally got strong enough, he'd possibly be able to help again in 2010. The popular sentiment is that it takes an entire season to recover from such a severe knee injury.

Much to my surprise, Barnett has become the most consistent inside linebacker on the team. It took a little while but he did it.

Barnett didn't play until the final preseason game. And even during the first couple regular season games, he was limited. It wasn't until the first Vikings game that Barnett played the entire game.

And he seems to be getting better each and every game this season. He's finally to the point the past two weeks where he's making plays in the offensive backfield.

He even showed flashes of becoming an effective blitzer, such as the time Barnett rushed Brett Favre and was able to deflect the ball from the quarterback's hand at the moment of release. Surprisingly, the ball wasn't intercepted.

Hopefully Barnett just keeps on improving every week. He's still not making impact plays such as sacking the quarterback, causing fumbles or making interceptions. But the he might be headed in that direction given the progress he's made this season.

Blue, red & cow chips in Packers '09 loss vs. Vikings

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:16:53 GMT

Designating blue chips, red chips and cow chips is our way of analyzing each game's winners and losers for the Packers. So without further ado...

Spencer Havner -- Don't get me wrong, the Packers still miss Jermichael Finley. But Spencer Havner is performing above expectations in his stead. Havner can't provide the jump ball threat Finley brings, but the first time tight end is doing pretty well in his own right. Currently Havner has six career catches that have went for three touchdowns including two against the Vikings. His first touchdown of the day was of the diving variety. It was the Packers first touchdown of the second half and really started to swing momentum back into their favor.
Ryan Pickett -- When the nose tackle is second on the team in tackles, that's darn good. Most of the time, they're the guys that are eating up blockers so that the linebackers can make the tackles. But not on Sunday. Pickett was very active and a presence in the Vikings' backfield all day long. He's part of the reason the Packers held Adrian Peterson to 97 yards on 25 carries for a 3.9 yard average, not bad for probably the best back in the NFL.

Nick Barnett -- I had my doubts whether Nick Barnett would be the same linebacker after making his comeback from last year's season ending knee injury. No longer do I have those unsure feelings. Barnett has gotten better week in and week out, partly because he's a little further removed from injury each and every week and partly because he's becoming more comfortable in his new role in Dom Capers' defensive scheme. Barnett led the team in tackles yesterday including one for a loss. He also nearly had the play of the day when he blitzed Brett Favre and tipped the ball right out of his hand.
Greg Jennings -- After a couple weeks in which Jennings had been a minor part of the Packers offense, it was good to see him get back on track and become the threat he typically is. He led the team in catches with eight for 88 yards. The yards per catch could have been better, but it's hard to complain when one of them went for a touchdown despite the Vikings defensive back having been called for holding on that particular play.

Pass protection -- Just when things were getting better for the offensive line after not giving up a single sack against the Cleveland Browns a week earlier, they regressed terribly against Minnesota. The Packers gave up six sacks and and even greater amount of quarterback knockdowns. The bookend tackles fared, perhaps, the poorest of all. Neither T.J. Lang nor Allen Barbre played what one could describe as well, especially if you factor in run blocking. Center Scott Wells also looked foolish a time or two attempting to stop the Williams Wall.
Kick coverage -- No matter what the Packers did to combat Percy Harvin, it didn't work. They tried to kick it deep in the first quarter, and Harvin returned the ball 77 yards to put the Vikings in prime field position. In the second half, the Packers tried to squib kick (on which Mason Crosby slipped), and Harvin returned it 48 yards. No matter which method the Packers use, coverage has to flat out improve.

Five notes from Sunday's win over Cleveland

TonyWilson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:55:00 GMT

There were plenty of things to take from Sunday's win over the Browns. While a win is a win, the Browns really, really suck. You truly don't know how bad Derek Anderson is until you actually see him try to play quarterback in person. It blows my mind that he was actually a Pro-Bowler and led a team to 10 wins. I have no idea how that's possible. Anyway, on with the notes...

1. Thanks for showing up, RG. Grant's performance Sunday was one of the best I've seen since the 2007 divisional playoff game against the Seahawks. Grant was fast and determined. He was hitting holes and getting around corners like he did on '07. While it was against one of the worst defenses in the league, it was great to see how often the Packers went to him. At one point, I actually asked myself, "When are they going to start throwing?"

2. Best linebacker performance of the year. Brian mentioned how good A.J. Hawk looked in his "Blue Chips, Red Chips, and Cow Chips" below. The other LB that looked great for the first time this year was Nick Barnett. I happened to be sitting in the end zone where the Packers defense got the first goal line stand that led to a Cleveland field goal. Barnett had a nose for the ball and almost got an interception. I'm really hoping these two can build off solid games.

3. More Donald, less Greg. Donald Driver continues to shine. Another great aspect of attending a game is actually seeing Driver flying down the sideline en route to a touchdown. His ability to catch a five-yard pass then turn it into a 71-yard score is second to none. But, while Driver's been stealing the show, Greg Jennings had another quiet game. Jennings is a deep threat, and the Packers didn't take one shot at him the whole game. Granted, they didn't need to. His specialty seems to be the 10-12-yard curl route for the time being.

4. Aaron Kampman is really good. Again, kudos to Brian on acknowledging the performance of Kampman. He's been implemented a lot more as a down rusher, but he also has some more comfort as an outside linebacker. There's no reason why he can't make a quarterback's life a nightmare in nickel and dime situations. The guy definitely still has it, and if he can gain more confidence with the position, it increases the likelihood he won't leave next season.

5. I hate kickoffs that go out of bounds. And Mason Crosby did that twice. Was it because Josh Cribbs was running them back? I don't think so, because Crosby booted a few into the endzone of which Cribbs kneed. Against better teams, it can really be detrimental to give up so much field position. The Packers don't give up huge kick returns a lot, so kicks out of bounds can't happen.

Packers Daily Links 10.21.09

Brian Carriveau — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:33:52 GMT

Social Networking: Follow both Railbird Central and me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

So any deal for Ahman Green still isn't official. Despite Milwaukee radio station WSSP reporting that Green had agreed to a contract with the Packers, Green's agent told Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that nothing was signed and sealed. So how would the Packers make room for Green if he were signed? "With fullback Korey Hall also out and running back Brandon Jackson playing on a still-gimpy ankle, the Packers could very likely turn to Green to solidify the unit behind starter Ryan Grant," writes Bedard. "Wynn would be placed on injured reserve." I personally would have considered Kregg Lumpkin from the practice squad ahead of Green.

The Packers announced that linebacker Clay Matthews has been nominated for the NFL Rookie of the Week award. "Green Bay's Clay Matthews recorded two sacks, three tackles for a loss and one pass defensed in his first NFL start in the Packers' 26 - 0 win over the Detroit Lions," according to the Packers. Fan voting determines the winner. Follow the link to vote.

Rory Lee of Packer Chatters was impressed with the play of linebacker Nick Barnett in the win over the Lions. "He had a team high eight tackles, but more importantly, he was making tackles at and behind the line of scrimmage," writes Lee. "He also would have had a nice sack if it wasn’t for the face mask penalty." I'll agree that Barnett appears to be getting better with each game this season. That trend has to keep up. It's time for Barnett to make some impact plays for the defense.

Monty of Total Packers laments the Packers not being active at the NFL's trading deadline on Tuesday. I thought that was highly unfair to Ted Thompson and the Packers. Aside for the Eagles and their trading partner, it's not as if thirty other teams were pulling off trades. This is the NFL, not Major League Baseball. Football teams don't just pull off mid-season trades with regularity. New players have to learn an entirely new system that most of the time takes and entire offseason and training camp.

Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV is trying to hold head coach Mike McCarthy responsible for the team's penalties. "McCarthy is fine as long as the players aren’t getting stupid after-the-whistle penalties," writes Nagler. "He’ll live with them. And if he will, so will his players. This is something that will never go away as long as McCarthy is coaching the youngest team in the NFL. They are being brought up in their professions learning that there is no accountability when it comes to committing penalties." There's something to be said for the youngest team in the NFL comment. The players have to learn, and in order to learn, they need to be taught.

Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette takes a look at the Browns and mentions dangerous return man Josh Cribbs. "Cribbs has a return for a touchdown on punts (67 yards) and kickoffs (98 yards last week against Pittsburgh)," writes Dougherty. "He has great size (6-1, 215) and power for a return man, and has eight returns for touchdowns in his five-year career." The Packers have their work cut out for them as they're one of the worst teams in the league at covering punts.

Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dives inside the jargon of the Packers offensive playbook.

Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine looks at the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Packer fans.

Greg C. of Packers Lounge hypothesizes, "If we only had a brain."

Railbird endorsed video: Enjoy the Gordon Stone band...