Tag Archives: NFC North

The Truth About Jordan Love

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Now I don’t want to go off on a ran here…but its time to talk about Jordan Love’s performance thus far. He earned the large contract and was on a trajectory to become one of the faces of the NFL but something happened. For clarity sake I am fond of the history of the Packers organization and championed the positions of black quarterbacks (Shameful Impatience w/ Black QB series) through many articles.

Its been a heavy burden filling Aaron Rodgers shoes and leading this football team. He’s done it admirably and when there were questions if he was the right quarterback he silenced them with his performance in the 2023 playoffs. After squeaking into the playoffs at 9-8 they were a heavy underdog and Love cooly led the Packers to a 20-0 start in Dallas on the way to a 48-21 upset. He went an efficient 16 of 21 for 272 yds throwing 3 TDs and never showed the nerves that most QBs face in their first playoff game.

Then the following week again on the road against the favored 2nd seeded 12-5 49ers, Love outplayed Brock Purdy. Going into the 4th quarter the Packers held a 24-14 lead before a defensive collapse and a costly 4th quarter interception. San Francisco didn’t take their 1st lead until McCaffrey’s 6yd run with just 1:07 to go in the game. Love had the Pakcers on the brink of the NFC Championship Game with a 21 for 34 performance 194 yds 2 TDs and 2 Ints, yet everyone left that game feeling Love showed growth solidifying his status as a franchise quarterback. Every pundit lauded his performance and couldn’t wait to see what was to come.

He was sailing along smoothly the following season until he came up against the new bullies of the block in Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions. These were the two surprising teams from  the previous season showing promise and the 11-1 Lions were hosting Love’s 9-3 Packers with the winner having inside track to homefield throughout the playoffs. Love was never in the game and came out slowly in a 34-31 loss. Hey were the Lions just that good or…. hmmm? Then two weeks later a repeat performance against the red hot 13-2 Vikings, falling behind 27-10, ultimately losing 27-25.

They had gone from playing for a chance at homefield advantage and the best in the NFC to 3rd place in just the NFC North. Love and the offense were anemic at the start of each game and then scrambled back to make the score look respectable. When the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles vanquished them 22-10 in the playoffs we were left with “Which is the real Jordan Love?” The Daniel who took his slingshot after 2 Goliaths in the ’23 playoffs or the disinterested lackluster QB we saw in 3 gigantic games with most of America watching when all was on the line?? All 3 happened in primetime and we needed to remove the stink that those 3 games gave us.

He now has the big contract and clearly the most important player on the Packers with a 9-6-1 record and losers of 3 straight.and barely hanging on in the 7th seed. Seriously?? Micah Parsons knee injury late in the year didn’t help but hold on with the excuses… Love went 18 of 25 for 183 yards in an inexplicable 13-10 loss to the 4-12 Browns. The opposing QB Joe Flacco, was traded just weeks later. Love could only muster 13 points in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Lambeau & only 7 American points in a loss to the Eagles in back to back weeks. Each of the teams he was facing have had terrible offensive seasons where Bryce Young may not be back in Carolina and turmoil is abound in Philadelphia over Jalen Hurts play.

Love and the Packers were 3-5 against winning teams in 2024 & 2-4 in 2025. There could be more but 4 teams they faced this year are currently 8-8 but this has been a poor follow-up to the ’23 playoff run. This is a team that acquired a bellcow runner in Josh Jacobs (1,329 yds in ’24) they haven’t had since Ahman Green. Made a trade for impact defensive terrorist Micah Parsons to bolster the defense and his receivers? Well Josh Allen would light the NFL up if he had Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvian (what kind of name is that?) Wicks, and Jayden Reed. Ask any Bills fan to which I am one if we would trade receiving staffs even up with the Packers… in a New York minute!!

All these moves were made to aid Love in fulfilling the promise from 2 seasons ago and we just haven’t seen any progress. Every time he has faced the teams with winning records he has come out with the yips. Only scoring 10 in a home loss to the 8-8 Panther team who were 4-5 at the time with only 1 win on the road (Jets)? They breathed playoff life into a team when they should have buried them. Same with only scoring 10 in a loss to the 4-12 Browns constitutes a bigger pattern. Love and the Packers keep playing with their food when it comes to weak teams also. After two years of this underperfomance and watching Malik Willis play well in relief it may be time to ask “Is Jordan Love the franchise quarterback we thought he was after 2023?”

I’m leaning toward no for an answer and he has to prove it or watch over his shoulder for a replacement in 2026. He may need a deep playoff run to stem the tide but this is a very large sample size to analyze & he may have become Pope Dak Prescott II. I don’t see him coming out of this as he hans’t exhibited a killer instinct to put his opponents away. That is something that can’t be coached…it has to be already in a player especially a franchise quarterback.

At the beginning of the season I was of the ilk this is the season Jordan Love would stake his claim and take the Packers to the NFC Championship. I was high on Love to rebound but as the season wore on I knew. This was why I predicted they would lose 2 weeks ago to Chicago whose overtaken them after predicting they would finish ahead of the Bears in my NFC North Preview. Caleb Williams has grown to the place Jordan Love did not. I have seen enough!

Should they trade Jordan Love and go with Malik Willis next year?? *shrugs shoulders*

What do you think?

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2016 NFC North Previews & Predictions

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When news of Teddy Bridgewater’s injury surfaced on social media, you knew it was bad. To cancel practice and there were Vikings players visibly getting ill the question arose: Will Teddy Bridgewater ever suit up again for the Minnesota Vikings?? For once there was no video and our collective imaginations ran with what we pictured based upon eye witness accounts like a long begone era. How bad was this knee / leg injury??

Clay buries Cutler

Clay buries Cutler

Speaking of knee injuries, a one Jordy Nelson comes back to the Green Bay Packers to give Aaron Rodgers his full arsenal of receivers. However he hasn’t cut on that reconstructed knee in a meaningful NFL game in nearly 2 years. Will he have his full range of motion and agility?? Before his injury this was one of the best overall receivers in the NFL based on quickness in and out of his cuts. He can also get deep. Will he have the full confidence to run on that knee with the reckless abandon as before??

Statues of Vince Lombardi & Curly Lambeau

Statues of Vince Lombardi & Curly Lambeau

2016 NFC North Predictions

Green Bay Packers 12-4**

Minnesota Vikings  9-7

Detroit Lions 6-10

Chicago Bears 3-13

The regular season is just a dress rehearsal for Green Bay to exercise dominance over this division. Last year Aaron Rodgers needed miracle Hail Mary’s to pull off victories in Detroit than again against the Cardinals in the wildcard round. This was important in his evolution since he rarely brought the Packers back from behind in the past. Now they are never out of a ballgame. His 347 of 572 for 3,821 yards for 31 TDs was solid considering he was missing his #1 weapon all year. He learned to trust all of his receivers as evidenced with TE Richard Rodgers (58 rec. 510 yds 8 TDs) and Devante Adams (50 rec. 483 yds 1TD) having career years and these are the and 5th options with Jordy back.

The Packers should lean more on the short pass and their rushing by committee a little more. Last year he was sacked 46 times and Green Bay just released 3 time Pro Bowl G Josh Sitton. Rodgers has to get James Starks (601 yds 2 TDs) and Eddie Lacy (758 yds 3 TDs) running forward to keep defenses honest. By midseason Starks should emerge as the man with Lacy’s up and down weight and performance taking it’s toll on the staff. Eddie will start to break down with the accumulative hits as well without being able to avoid contact. Keep your eye on this going into the 2nd half of the season.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer watches his team during an NFL mini camp in Eden Prairie, Minn., Tuesday, June 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

With :22 to go in last year’s NFC Wildcard Tilt with Seattle, the Vikings were readying themselves for a trip to Arizona. Head Coach Mike Zimmer’s squad had improved from 7-9 to 11-5 with an improving QB in Bridgewater and they were about to vanquish Seattle for the 1st playoff win of the Zimmer/Bridgewater era. Alas Blair Walsh misses a 27 yard kick sending the Vikings home for the season.

Fast forward through Bridgewater’s injury and you have a team teetering on 36 yr old Shaun Hill or journeyman Sam Bradford to quarterback this team back to the postseason. They’ll have to lean on improvement from last year’s 13th ranked defense and an aging but still effective Adrian Peterson ( 1,485 yds / 11 TDs). Pro Bowlers SS Harrison Smith, LB Anthony Barr, and DE Anderson Griffen need to duplicate last year’s success for this team to even think of making the playoffs.

The problem is having an unsettled QB situation when starting 2 of 3 on the road in Tennessee and defending NFC Champion Carolina. Sandwiched between these two games has Zimmer’s crew hosting the Green Bay Packers and an 0-3 start is very possible.

The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions are both totally rudderless ships. Both teams are incomplete and need to focus on discovering where they aregoing with current personnel. Matthew Stafford should lead the Lions to a few more wins this season than Cutler in Chicago.

Just not enough to offset this year’s Green Bay squad. Thanks for reading and please share the article.

 

 

 

 

 

NFL Week 8: NFC North – New Beginnings

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Will Jay Cutler’s toughness be questioned after coming back from a frightening sack on Monday night??

In a gritty performance on Monday night, the Bears upped their record to 5-1 beating the Detroit Lions 13-6. The game wasn’t an artistic one for the Bears by any means but a win is a win is a win. Bear fans were thrown for a huge scare when Ndamukong Suh slammed Jay Cutler to the turf in the second quarter. As trainers attended Cutler, everyone flashed back to the 2010 NFC Championship Game. In that one he left with what looked like a questionable injury and his toughness has been in dispute ever since. The Monday night crew showed replay after replay and it looked like he may have suffered a serious injury to his shoulder or collarbone.

The silence at Soldier Field was deafening until he popped up and ran to the sideline. The uneasiness of losing Cutler could derail what looks like a possible super season for the Bears. Anxiety turned to appreciation when he jogged onto the field a few minutes later. A quarterback once questioned for his toughness, was now receiving a standing ovation for exhibiting such. There was something gained during those anxious moments between the Bears fan-base and Jay. It will be interesting to watch as we move forward on how he will be perceived. We believe a new found respect for Cutler and the Bears offense will emerge from this. They won more than a game a few days ago.

Lets take a look at the standings…

North Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
Chicago Bears Bears 5 1 0 .833 162 78 3-0 2-1 1-1 3-1 W4 4-1
Minnesota Vikings Vikings 5 2 0 .714 167 131 4-0 1-2 1-0 3-1 W1 4-1
Green Bay Packers Packers 4 3 0 .571 184 155 2-1 2-2 1-0 3-2 W2 3-2
Detroit Lions Lions 2 4 0 .333 133 150 1-1 1-3 0-2 2-3 L1 1-4

Charles Tillman has been a Pro Bowl caliber corner for years. On Monday Night he turned into Optimus Prime, holding Megatron to just 3 receptions for 34 yards.

Now according to NFL accounting, the Bears field the 6th best defense in pro football. Yet what jumps out at you is they have only given up 78 points this season. In the last four games they have held three of their opponents to 10 points or less. An argument can be made against them since they haven’t beat a team with a winning record. However if you’ve looked at their schedule, seven of their last eight have winning records and we will know where this team is going facing that gauntlet. When our CEO did his Pro Bowl voting, he could only find spots for four of these defenders on his ballot. Charles Tillman, Henry Melton, Tim Jennings, and Taylor Blitz Times Defensive Player of the Year candidate Lance Briggs. Melton has reaped the reward of teams paying so much attention to Julius Peppers on the corner. His 18 tackles and team leading 4.5 sacks is best for NFC interior defensive linemen. As the season progresses and teams make Melton more of a focal point, it will free Peppers to make more of an impact.

They are playing team defense that hasn’t been seen since the 2008 Steelers or 2002 Buccaneers. Do you realize in 6 games, they have 21 sacks, 14 interceptions, 5 defensive touchdowns, forced 9 fumbles, recovered 7 of those to the tune of 21 turnovers?? Those are ’85 Bears numbers if you project them out to a full season.

As it appears the Packers have righted their ship, they lose a rudder with Charles Woodson going down with a broken collarbone. He is out indefinitely and this is a big loss. He is the reason they are able to juggle him around at safety, nickel corner on slot receivers, and can use a variety of blitzes with his man to man cover skills. Without him the Packers may change how they are calling plays from a defensive standpoint. Right now they are 14th in total defense and 17th against the pass while giving up 22 points per game. They will have to score to win.

Speaking of which, the Packers have sprung to life on offense averaging 33 points per game in their last three. All of them against defenses that rank in the top half of the league. After a slow start Aaron Rodgers has thrown 16 touchdowns in the last 4 games. That is a torrid pace and here comes the 24th ranked defense of Jacksonville to help pad his Pro Bowl stats. Yet in back to back games the Packers have been unable to run for 100 yards and this will eventually come back and haunt the offense at some point. This deficiency may not come back to bite them this week, but the week after against the 4th ranked Cardinal defense it may. Still a season on the brink in Green Bay.

Adrian Peterson is the heart and soul of the Vikings offense once again.

Is there a more below the radar 5-2 team than the Minnesota Vikings?? Whenever we hear the so called experts talking about the best team in the NFL no one mentions them. Everyone anoints the Niners the team to beat but these Vikings hammered them in week 3, 23-14. Not only does this team have a 2-1 record against teams with winning records, they are an RG III 76 yard touchdown run and an Adam Vinatieri field goal from being undefeated. Percy Harvin has been one of the league’s best players and received a Pro Bowl vote from our CEO. He has 53 receptions for 577 yards and teams never know where he’s going to line up.

As the season goes on, Adrian Peterson looks like he’s getting stronger with each game. With 652 yards on 136 carries (4.8 yd avg) and 3 touchdowns, already worthy of a Pro Bowl vote, we’re waiting for that breakout game during the second half of this season. It’s coming. Think back to Jamal Lewis who once played for the Baltimore Ravens. He tore up his knee in 2001, and after a slow 2002, burst out with a 2,066 yard season which was the second highest in NFL history. We see the same thing coming in Peterson and with his speedy recovery we expect him to be a tornado come playoff time. It’s not far fetched when you remember this guy holds the NFL rushing record of 296 in one game.

Then you take a look at the defensive side of the ball and you’ll see it’s a complete systemic effort. Pressure from the front four starts with Jared Allen (pro bowl vote) with 6 sacks, along with Brian Robison’s 4, only then do you realize they have more sacks than the Bears at 22. Is there anyone Chad Greenway (pro bowl vote) hasn’t tackled?? He has 75 and we’re not at the half-way point of the season! He is on pace to be over 160 for the season and deserves to be recognized for his steady play. With 55 tackles, 1 sack and 2 interceptions Antoine Winfield is having a great year, but can he keep it up at 35 years of age. As a group they don’t force a lot of turnovers yet are ranked a respectable 11th.

So we at Taylor Blitz Times understand what we see: A serious contender for the NFC North title and serious NFC representative for the Super Bowl if they can get through weeks 12-17, when the division faces one another. First off, they have tie break advantages over San Francisco and Arizona if they are both division champions or wild card participants. They play Seattle in two weeks where they could possibly have them under their thumb also. By the way, the Vikings are 4-0 at home and only have one loss in the conference. It’s all these tie breakers that will propel the Vikings forward and should come back to haunt Green Bay. As The Chancellor of Football has said many times “At some point you have to believe what your eyes are seeing.” Wake up!! That holds true when you think of this team and a new way to look at them as a contender.

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By the way, many thanks to The Artie Clear Show where The Chancellor was on talking football with Artie yesterday. The show is a friend to the Taylor Blitz Times in more ways than one. Check out all the former pro players, from all sports that he has on. Tellin’ it like it is except when he’s debating The Chancellor, give the show a listen. Especially with the baseball postseason going. He’s on it… http://www.theartieclearshow.com/

 

NFL Week 4: NFC North – Lessons of The NFL

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Josh Robinson celebrating after his interception of Alex Smith in the 4th quarter of a 24-13 win.

One of the hardest things an NFL Head Coach has to do is get his team to take a supposed lessor team seriously. Especially when they get a target on their back. Well the Minnesota Vikings stepped up and showed they weren’t going to be pushed around by the San Francisco 49ers. They led the entire game and Chistian Ponder is growing up as a quarterback. So far on the young season he has thrown for 4 touchdowns without a single interception. How competitive has Minnesota been?? Do you realize the Vikings are an Adam Vinatieri overtime field goal away from a 3-0 start??

By the way, where is this explosive Packers offense?? Do you realize after 3 weeks Green Bay has yet to crack 24 points in a game and are ranked 25th in offense?? After throwing for 45 touchdowns a season before, Rodgers only has 3 this season. They are having an issue rushing the football. Twice this season they have failed to rush for more than 100 yards as Cedric Benson and the offensive line haven’t meshed. Nevermind the blown call in last night’s loss to Seattle, the fact is the Packers overlooked Seattle and woke up in a battle. Teams are really playing their receivers physically this season which throws off timing. People tend to forget that in 2010 Aaron Rodgers was 1 concussion away from sitting out the rest of the season. Last night with his being sacked 8 times in the first half they may get him knocked out. They have to right the ship quickly. Now they are behind Seattle (2-1) San Francisco (2-1)  when it comes down to wildcard and division tie breakers. Just remember the old axiom what happens one season doesn’t necessarily happen the next..

Speaking of which…

North Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
Minnesota Vikings Vikings 2 1 0 .667 70 59 2-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 W1 2-1
Chicago Bears Bears 2 1 0 .667 74 50 2-0 0-1 0-1 1-1 W1 2-1
Green Bay Packers Packers 1 2 0 .333 57 54 1-1 0-1 1-0 1-2 L1 1-2
Detroit Lions Lions 1 2 0 .333 87 94 1-0 0-2 0-0 1-1 L2 1-2

Will the Detroit Lions begin to play defense?? First, DE Cliff Avril sits out all summer and doesn’t want to sign his franchise player contract. Here we are with 7 tackles and 1 sack after three games?? He has to get on track and where is Nick Fairley?? Right now this team isn’t tackling and the defense just gave up 44 points to a team that could not score more than 13 in the previous 2 weeks. That’s embarrassing. The offense finally got RB Mikel Leshoure going (26 car. 100 yards 1TD) the special teams and defense let the team down. The Lions can look forward to having a more balanced offense and keep pressure off Matthew Stafford now. However they may need to make a trade before the week 6 deadline to fortify the defense. After 3 weeks they have only forced 1 turnover and have no interceptions.

Michael Bush was a good insurance policy pickup this offseason. It may pay off this Monday Night when they face Dallas.

Remember when the sky was falling just a week ago when Cutler and the Bears lost in Lambeau?? They are tied for the division lead after beating the Rams 23-6. Jay Cutler has thrown 6 interceptions this early season and is a work in progress. He has to improve on his 52.7% completion rate as he and Brandon Marshall work to find a rhythm.

It looks like the Chicago Bears will be without the services of RB Matt Forte on Monday Night when they face the Dallas Cowboys. Don’t be surprised if the Bears simplify their game plan and feed them Michael Bush 25-30 times. He actually leads the team with 151 yards and 3TDs anyway. This may be the best time for them to run the ball with his straight ahead running style. Allow that defense to rest.

Did we just say something about running the football?? Well Head Coach Leslie Frazier clearly got the memo. In their game with the 49ers, Minnesota ran the football 41 times with Toby Gerhart and Adrian Peterson. There is a culture war going on in the NFL between hard running teams like Minnesota and all these teams lining up in 4 receiver sets and empty backfields. The teams that are playing 7 man sled running, blocking, and tackling football are winning right now. The Packers have lost two to these types of teams already. If you look at the Packers situation in a nutshell, teams have figured out their offense and tendencies and what we have seen over 3 weeks is no fluke. They had better get it together on the ground or they could be watching this year’s playoffs. Both rushing the football and stopping the run. Didn’t Vince Lombardi once say that?? Lessons of the NFL

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