Joe Nor Cal Packer
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And that's a big problem.
1st preseason game
- Thread starter Packerlover
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Joe Nor Cal Packer
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Was he responsible for that sack by Trey Flowers? That was scary. He landed right on top of Rodgers.
GreenBaySlacker
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Raji seemed to get caught in the wash. I was hoping for more... But without Daniels/Guion wrecking the ends and Mathews roaming behind him.........
I'd like to hear Wimms input on Raji as well. I didnt watch very closely.
I'd like to hear Wimms input on Raji as well. I didnt watch very closely.
Joe Nor Cal Packer
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Bakhtiari did not play well but yeah I'm not too worried as long as Rodgers doesn't get hurt. Rollins could have had two picks but both he and Gunter were impressive.
I did like Perillo, he doesn't even look like a football player and he made some good contested catches. We need that from a TE. I was not impressed with White. I was early and soon after he reminded me why he's fighting for a 5th or 6th WR spot. I guess if the best we have, fine, but I'd really think someone can overtake him.
I like Janis' catch over the middle better than the TD, but i never saw a replay and it looked like maybe he didn't catch it in traffic all that cleanly? As long as they end up with the ball i'm happy, but I'd like to see them snatch it and secure it quickly in those situations, especially against backups.
I was a little disappointed in Adams, you can clearly see the talent level and I'm not worried about him, but with all that talent, you gotta make that TD catch to be anything more than just a guy out there. I expect more out of him. I don't care about thru the leg 360 dunks if you can't make that catch consistently. Again, i'm not worried going forward, I think he has it physically and mentally to be better than just some guy and he will be as soon as this season.
I think Gunter makes this team unless he goes and punches someone in the face and breaks their jaw. I was impressed with how he made the most of his opportunities. He wasn't perfect, but he looked good for a rookie. Right before he made that INT I had commented that he's inexperienced right now and it only shows on some plays, but he has the skills to make big time plays and he did. I expect more of those too.
You can see that Rollins is a football player, very impressed with that kid too. I think he has the potential to be better than any DB we've had recently.
I liked what I saw from Pennel and Mulumba and Elliot too. Whenever I'd see something I liked from the other LB'ers, they'd follow it up with leaving me less than impressed, or vice versa. So i'm not sold one way or the other on any of them yet. More consistency would be nice, it will be interesting to watch them going forward.
Raji didn't impress or leave me wanting him cut so that's good so far I guess, I didn't really see Thorton much that I remember.
The vets were the vets, our LT has to play better, I still think he's overrated a bit. he doesn't suck, but he's not franchise LT quality either.
I think our backup QB position is the best it's been in recent years. I hope to never see any of them other than preseason, even Hundley looked good, but then I still have visions of Harrell and Brohm sucking all over the place and not being able to complete a pass or move. Those haven't been scrubbed from my memory yet.
I like Janis' catch over the middle better than the TD, but i never saw a replay and it looked like maybe he didn't catch it in traffic all that cleanly? As long as they end up with the ball i'm happy, but I'd like to see them snatch it and secure it quickly in those situations, especially against backups.
I was a little disappointed in Adams, you can clearly see the talent level and I'm not worried about him, but with all that talent, you gotta make that TD catch to be anything more than just a guy out there. I expect more out of him. I don't care about thru the leg 360 dunks if you can't make that catch consistently. Again, i'm not worried going forward, I think he has it physically and mentally to be better than just some guy and he will be as soon as this season.
I think Gunter makes this team unless he goes and punches someone in the face and breaks their jaw. I was impressed with how he made the most of his opportunities. He wasn't perfect, but he looked good for a rookie. Right before he made that INT I had commented that he's inexperienced right now and it only shows on some plays, but he has the skills to make big time plays and he did. I expect more of those too.
You can see that Rollins is a football player, very impressed with that kid too. I think he has the potential to be better than any DB we've had recently.
I liked what I saw from Pennel and Mulumba and Elliot too. Whenever I'd see something I liked from the other LB'ers, they'd follow it up with leaving me less than impressed, or vice versa. So i'm not sold one way or the other on any of them yet. More consistency would be nice, it will be interesting to watch them going forward.
Raji didn't impress or leave me wanting him cut so that's good so far I guess, I didn't really see Thorton much that I remember.
The vets were the vets, our LT has to play better, I still think he's overrated a bit. he doesn't suck, but he's not franchise LT quality either.
I think our backup QB position is the best it's been in recent years. I hope to never see any of them other than preseason, even Hundley looked good, but then I still have visions of Harrell and Brohm sucking all over the place and not being able to complete a pass or move. Those haven't been scrubbed from my memory yet.
Joe Nor Cal Packer
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The start reminded me too much of the NFCCG. Great drives to the red zone and then nada. I know the field is short down there but cmon. It's a problem that a stud TE might solve, but I'm talking about Graham/Gronk type players. Maybe Janis is a go to guy there given his height and quickness. I don't know what the fix is, but fix it they must.
D
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You're right that the Packers were better than I thought in the red zone last year although being at the bottom of the top 10 (according to the numbers I found) isn't perfect for the highest scoring offense in the league.
The offense had exclusively starters on the field for the seven plays in the first quarter I was referring to. The coaching staff doesn't need to hold back anything to evaluate any of them.
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Perillo looks a bit like Jason Witten on the field.
Sunshinepacker
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Only the first exhibition game so all of my thoughts are basically groundless since they're based on a sample of size of 30 plays, max, but here we go:
- Raji was unimpressive but he also wasn't terrible so it's an improvement (baby steps!)
- Datone Jones looked like he did last year; good rushing the QB, terrible at stopping the RB
- Rollins looked good
- Gunter looked very good but there were a couple of plays where his lack of speed showed (thinking of an early pass towards Josh Boyce that Gunter was a step behind but the ball was overthrown)
- HaHa played poorly
- Pennel showed fairly well
Carl
Cheesehead
Even with all the starters in they still don't have lots of scouting or scheming done at this point.
Carl
Cheesehead
Perillo looked big out there.
That's true, but i'd like to think with ALL of those opportunities they had last night, they could have converted a couple of them based on talent alone. We're a big, bad, dominating offense, that can't line up and just beat someone for 3 yards despite multiple opportunities. I know it's preseason, it's also a preseason defense we're facing. It would be nice to see that we can just line up and beat the guy across from you once and a while.
Carl
Cheesehead
Yes, it was a vanilla defense, but it doesn't change that the Packers looked to evaluate and practice more than actually score.
Plus, Linsley missed a block and Adams dropped a TD pass. Those are fixable mistakes, which are expected early in preseason. Two TDs right there.
There's no reason for concern based on a couple drives in the preseason.
QB: Good to see Rodgers get the amount of snaps that he did, though he went down a couple more times than I'd like to see. Tolzien looks like he's perfectly ready to be a good backup QB.
RB: Lacy still a beast as expected. Harris, Neal, and Crockett should provide good competition for the 3rd RB spot.
OL: I would grade them at best a C just based solely on letting Rodgers on his back too much for one quarter of a preseason game. Bahk looked disastrous. Barclay, who I expect to be our top backup, did not impress.
WR: Fine for the most part. I know Janis hasn't had a great camp, but it'll be tough to leave his skills off the roster. Davante looks like he's going to be a star at times, but he dropped 2 TD's --very tough catches, but ones that he needs to make to take the next step. Mongtomery will be fine. Needs to improve his footing and awareness along the sidelines,but that's just rookie stuff.
TE: Quarless had a couple catches and a very un-Gronk like drop. Perillo is a good bet right now to crack the roster, I think.
DL: It's just pre-season, but for a guy with a chip on his shoulder, I'd like to at least notice that Raji was on the field, and I never did. Not a big deal, but the benefit of the doubt for him is long gone. Datone got some penetration a couple times, other than that there wasn't much to see.
LB: Elliot may be a pre-season star again. Liked what I saw for the most part at ILB. Jake Ryan looks great at times and disappears at others. Carl Bradford put on some nice tape.
DB: For the most part, I really liked what I saw and I think there is little to fear with the new DB's this season. Rollins looks like a ballhawk, though I'd like to start seeing him catch some of those. Gunter is going to make this roster. The worst play of the game was on Clinton-Dix, when he lost containment, took a poor angle and was put on his back by a chip from a blocker that was alright engaged with another lineman, leading to a TD.
ST: Not a whole lot to evaluate. Coverage teams was great at times, and still looked like last year on others.
RB: Lacy still a beast as expected. Harris, Neal, and Crockett should provide good competition for the 3rd RB spot.
OL: I would grade them at best a C just based solely on letting Rodgers on his back too much for one quarter of a preseason game. Bahk looked disastrous. Barclay, who I expect to be our top backup, did not impress.
WR: Fine for the most part. I know Janis hasn't had a great camp, but it'll be tough to leave his skills off the roster. Davante looks like he's going to be a star at times, but he dropped 2 TD's --very tough catches, but ones that he needs to make to take the next step. Mongtomery will be fine. Needs to improve his footing and awareness along the sidelines,but that's just rookie stuff.
TE: Quarless had a couple catches and a very un-Gronk like drop. Perillo is a good bet right now to crack the roster, I think.
DL: It's just pre-season, but for a guy with a chip on his shoulder, I'd like to at least notice that Raji was on the field, and I never did. Not a big deal, but the benefit of the doubt for him is long gone. Datone got some penetration a couple times, other than that there wasn't much to see.
LB: Elliot may be a pre-season star again. Liked what I saw for the most part at ILB. Jake Ryan looks great at times and disappears at others. Carl Bradford put on some nice tape.
DB: For the most part, I really liked what I saw and I think there is little to fear with the new DB's this season. Rollins looks like a ballhawk, though I'd like to start seeing him catch some of those. Gunter is going to make this roster. The worst play of the game was on Clinton-Dix, when he lost containment, took a poor angle and was put on his back by a chip from a blocker that was alright engaged with another lineman, leading to a TD.
ST: Not a whole lot to evaluate. Coverage teams was great at times, and still looked like last year on others.
H
HardRightEdge
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Here are my highlights and lowlights by position:
Backup QB:
Tolzien: He threw a nice ball to Janis. I'd like to see him sustain a ball control drive; that's been an issue.
Hundley: A pleasant surprise. The positives on Hundley coming in were his short throw accuracy and mobility. The negatives were his suspect downfield accuracy and the issue with most QBs coming out of college these days: being able to run a pro style offense. The positives were on display. He seemed to have decent command of the offense. I did not see the deep throw to Pinkard because NFL Network cut away to the Dallas game...if anybody has found tape on that, a link would be appreciated. Dunno if local TV stuck with the Packer game.
Backup WR:
White: I was a little disappointed. He still chops steps coming off against press coverage, which messes with the play timing and neutralizes his speed advantage. I'm not sure if he can extend for a tough catch. Need to see more. I suspect he may not have gotten past "injury default option".
Janis: I swear I'm watching a carbon copy of Billy Schroeder. You can't help but like the way he blew by the corner for the TD. He made a nice reach-back catch to the shoulder on a crosser. So, what's the problem? On the 4th. down slant incompletion, the corner read the play all the way, beat Janis to the ball and knocked him down in the process. Is he just a vertical/space receiver who can't sell a possession route move? I don't think I've yet to see a ball thrown to him where he has to extend for it. We need to see more.
Montgomery: Not many opportunities to look at here. Has the look of an unpolished rookie receiver. He's definitely the physical presence he was touted to be. Need to see more. Gostkowski didn't give him a chance to return a KO. On punt returns, he looks like he knows what he's doing once he has the ball, but I don't see a natural fielder of the ball which presents fumble risk. In the final analysis, I'll be very surprised if the punt returns don't go to Hyde in an "if ain't broke don't fix it" conclusion.
TE:
As far as Quarless and Rodgers go, they are who we thought they are. I swear, if they aren't in-line blocking against a D-Lineman coming straight at them they might as well not be on the field. When they're called upon to block down the line, out of the backfield, or into the second level, their techniques could be described as "casual". They mosey out there and wait for a defender to engage them. Hit somebody for gosh sakes, instead of Lacy having to shove you out of the way. And that second drive that failed on the 4th. down Starks run...Quarless whiffed on the DE making an inside move, with said DE making the tackle from behind as Starks paused to spot a hole. How does a TE not block down inside on a middle run? Maybe Quarless forgot the snap count? That's just as bad.
Quarless had a couple of nice catches; he also had a bad drop...about par for the course for him.
Perillo looks serviceable as we head toward Quarless' suspension. After that, Perillo may just steal some of his snaps.
RB/FB:
Lacy and Starks looked like the runners we know them to be. I reran the 4th. down incompletion in the first drive about 1/2 dozen times and could not detect the defender getting a piece of the ball or Lacy's arm. To my eye it was a flat out drop.
Harris was one of the pleasant surprises in this game. Besides the bounce-out TD run, he looks like a guy who can get a yard or two out of nothing. I was impressed with the middle release check down catch that went for 7 yards. He looked like he knew what he was doing. He should have moved ahead of the other #3 candidates.
Ripkowski is a better backfield blocker than any of these TEs. He didn't get in until garbage time, but on the two run blocks I noted, he got off the ball, hit somebody that mattered, and in one case moved the guy off the line. And he was not leading with his head! He had a couple of coverage unit tackles and was around the ball. I expect him to make it as the backup FB, projected perhaps as next year's front line FB, and a core special teams player.
O-Line:
Bakhtiari was shaky as I'm sure all here observed. It's still early.
Barclay was especially shaky; I counted 3 times he was beaten badly. At least Barclay has the excuse of not having played tackle football for a year and a half. You know what they say about ACLs...the comeback is as much mental as physical...getting to the point where the player trusts it; stops thinking about it...time will tell.
The good news is that Bulaga looked to be in midseason form. I didn't notice a minus play from him. The one time I saw a guy get off his block, Bulaga had him stoned, Lang was looking for work and came into Bulaga's block to give some chippy help, and Lang knocked the defender off the block! C'mon, man. A couple times the DE got under Bulaga's pads on a bull rush but Bulaga held his ground...this is a stud player who looks like he wants to validate his contract even in preseason game 1. You gotta like that.
D-Line:
I'm giving my "#1 Pleasant Surprise Award" to Bruce Gaston. That's a quick big man with a motor. The announcer (and the ESPN's box score) gave a sack to Jones when it clearly belonged to Gaston, who flat out beat his man clean off the line, wrapped up Jimmy G. before he knew what hit him, with Jones rolling over the tackle after it was a fait accomplis. Given how much emphasis is placed on sacks, and how it takes to qualify as good at it, awarding the sack to Jones instead of Gaston is a crime against statistics.
Further, If anybody goes back to review their DVR recording or the game replay, check out the pass rush when Jones and Gaston are playing side by side. Gaston is pushing the pocket; Jones is not. I also noted Gaston in full pursuit downfield, not the perfunctory jog you see from some players (yeah, Raji, I'm talking about you). We need to see Gaston follow-up on this performance, but I suspect we may have a solution to the nickel DT suspension issues. Gaston one time ran around the pocket...Capers doesn't like that.
On a similar note, Jones' other credited sack was set up by Elliot who came clean off the edge; Jimmy G. was a deer in the headlights. Jones did make a nice break up the middle for the sack on the sitting duck, to mix metaphors.
I see in Jones the same guy I've seen before...opportunistic, cagy, second effort guy...similar to Neal. But not a playmaker. He looks a bit heavier than last season, if that means anything.
Raji: He was regularly double teamed on the nose. He did didn't get blown out of the plays; he didn't get off any blocks either. Need to see more.
Pennel looked a little more athletic than his past self, sliding to gaps instead of just standing up in front of the center.
In general, to my eye it looks like Capers may be going to a more aggressive gap play/jet rush approach that worked well in 2010. I welcome that. Take the game to the opponent.
In summary, this was a game to build on. But it's too early to get overly enthusiastic...that NE O-line with 3 rookies is in the early stages of the jelling process. I'd like to see the good things shown in this game repeated against a more veteran line.
LB:
If Ryan doesn't beat out Palmer I'll be surprised. On the 55 yard run, Mulumba didn't get off the block but held his ground, Dix took a bad angle which didn't help matters, but Palmer fell down unblocked. Palmer looked like the player I thought he was, lacking in aggressiveness...I'm not sure he'd be an upgrade over Jones. Ryan on the other hand was all around the ball, with good anticipation and instincts.
Bradford looks generally clueless when he isn't pass rushing from the middle. Unless he's doing stuff on special teams I didn't notice, he could be out the door.
Hubbard looked equally clueless.
Elliot and Mulumba are a study in contrasts. Elliot is athletic, aggressive, active and prone to mistakes. I suspect he's doing some freelancing out there. Mulumba looks solid, assignment-sure, good tackler. Mulumba is the more well-rounded player and is understandably in front of the other backups on the depth chart with Perry and Neal on the sidelines. He might even pass up one of those guys. Elliot could be the player in OLB backup group if he can put some consistency together with the flash plays.
DB:
I put Rollins and Gunter in a tie for close 2nd. to Gaston for the "Pleasant Surprise Award".
Gunter has an interesting technique. He stays in physical contact with the receiver as they run downfield, without getting handsy which would draw the call. This keeps the receiver from getting in full stride...this is how he compensates for lack of long speed and why his "field speed" looks better than the 40 time.
Rollins had a good game...he did not give up much separation, has good ball recognition, and had the two long ball break-ups. He looks pretty darn good for a guy who only played one year of college football. A good start for a guy with upside. Right now, preliminarily, it's looking like we lose nothing with Rollins over House.
I have to restrain my enthusiasm for the time being. Jimmy G. was under-throwing those deep balls to a set of shaky wideouts. We have to see what these guys can do against better competition.
Kickers:
As noted previously, Gostkoski did not allow a KO to be returned. Compare and contrast to Crosby...all 5 of his KOs were returned. Crosby's TB-to-return ratio has been up and down over his career, ranking anywhere from middle of the pack one season to near the bottom in others. If this is the way it's going to go in 2015, then the KO coverage team needs to be effective.
Crosby's 5 KO's went to the -5, -3, 2, -2 and -3 yard lines, for an average of -2.2. The return team yielded a 24.6 yard average on those 5 returns, so NE's average KO starting position was the 22.4 yard line, with a long return of 35 yards.
It's just one preseason game, but if they can take this into the season it will be a win.
Mathay had 2 punts. He had plenty of time on both. They went for 33 and 35 yards. However, both were fair caught inside the 20...win, win. Averages can sometimes be deceiving.
Backup QB:
Tolzien: He threw a nice ball to Janis. I'd like to see him sustain a ball control drive; that's been an issue.
Hundley: A pleasant surprise. The positives on Hundley coming in were his short throw accuracy and mobility. The negatives were his suspect downfield accuracy and the issue with most QBs coming out of college these days: being able to run a pro style offense. The positives were on display. He seemed to have decent command of the offense. I did not see the deep throw to Pinkard because NFL Network cut away to the Dallas game...if anybody has found tape on that, a link would be appreciated. Dunno if local TV stuck with the Packer game.
Backup WR:
White: I was a little disappointed. He still chops steps coming off against press coverage, which messes with the play timing and neutralizes his speed advantage. I'm not sure if he can extend for a tough catch. Need to see more. I suspect he may not have gotten past "injury default option".
Janis: I swear I'm watching a carbon copy of Billy Schroeder. You can't help but like the way he blew by the corner for the TD. He made a nice reach-back catch to the shoulder on a crosser. So, what's the problem? On the 4th. down slant incompletion, the corner read the play all the way, beat Janis to the ball and knocked him down in the process. Is he just a vertical/space receiver who can't sell a possession route move? I don't think I've yet to see a ball thrown to him where he has to extend for it. We need to see more.
Montgomery: Not many opportunities to look at here. Has the look of an unpolished rookie receiver. He's definitely the physical presence he was touted to be. Need to see more. Gostkowski didn't give him a chance to return a KO. On punt returns, he looks like he knows what he's doing once he has the ball, but I don't see a natural fielder of the ball which presents fumble risk. In the final analysis, I'll be very surprised if the punt returns don't go to Hyde in an "if ain't broke don't fix it" conclusion.
TE:
As far as Quarless and Rodgers go, they are who we thought they are. I swear, if they aren't in-line blocking against a D-Lineman coming straight at them they might as well not be on the field. When they're called upon to block down the line, out of the backfield, or into the second level, their techniques could be described as "casual". They mosey out there and wait for a defender to engage them. Hit somebody for gosh sakes, instead of Lacy having to shove you out of the way. And that second drive that failed on the 4th. down Starks run...Quarless whiffed on the DE making an inside move, with said DE making the tackle from behind as Starks paused to spot a hole. How does a TE not block down inside on a middle run? Maybe Quarless forgot the snap count? That's just as bad.
Quarless had a couple of nice catches; he also had a bad drop...about par for the course for him.
Perillo looks serviceable as we head toward Quarless' suspension. After that, Perillo may just steal some of his snaps.
RB/FB:
Lacy and Starks looked like the runners we know them to be. I reran the 4th. down incompletion in the first drive about 1/2 dozen times and could not detect the defender getting a piece of the ball or Lacy's arm. To my eye it was a flat out drop.
Harris was one of the pleasant surprises in this game. Besides the bounce-out TD run, he looks like a guy who can get a yard or two out of nothing. I was impressed with the middle release check down catch that went for 7 yards. He looked like he knew what he was doing. He should have moved ahead of the other #3 candidates.
Ripkowski is a better backfield blocker than any of these TEs. He didn't get in until garbage time, but on the two run blocks I noted, he got off the ball, hit somebody that mattered, and in one case moved the guy off the line. And he was not leading with his head! He had a couple of coverage unit tackles and was around the ball. I expect him to make it as the backup FB, projected perhaps as next year's front line FB, and a core special teams player.
O-Line:
Bakhtiari was shaky as I'm sure all here observed. It's still early.
Barclay was especially shaky; I counted 3 times he was beaten badly. At least Barclay has the excuse of not having played tackle football for a year and a half. You know what they say about ACLs...the comeback is as much mental as physical...getting to the point where the player trusts it; stops thinking about it...time will tell.
The good news is that Bulaga looked to be in midseason form. I didn't notice a minus play from him. The one time I saw a guy get off his block, Bulaga had him stoned, Lang was looking for work and came into Bulaga's block to give some chippy help, and Lang knocked the defender off the block! C'mon, man. A couple times the DE got under Bulaga's pads on a bull rush but Bulaga held his ground...this is a stud player who looks like he wants to validate his contract even in preseason game 1. You gotta like that.
D-Line:
I'm giving my "#1 Pleasant Surprise Award" to Bruce Gaston. That's a quick big man with a motor. The announcer (and the ESPN's box score) gave a sack to Jones when it clearly belonged to Gaston, who flat out beat his man clean off the line, wrapped up Jimmy G. before he knew what hit him, with Jones rolling over the tackle after it was a fait accomplis. Given how much emphasis is placed on sacks, and how it takes to qualify as good at it, awarding the sack to Jones instead of Gaston is a crime against statistics.
Further, If anybody goes back to review their DVR recording or the game replay, check out the pass rush when Jones and Gaston are playing side by side. Gaston is pushing the pocket; Jones is not. I also noted Gaston in full pursuit downfield, not the perfunctory jog you see from some players (yeah, Raji, I'm talking about you). We need to see Gaston follow-up on this performance, but I suspect we may have a solution to the nickel DT suspension issues. Gaston one time ran around the pocket...Capers doesn't like that.
On a similar note, Jones' other credited sack was set up by Elliot who came clean off the edge; Jimmy G. was a deer in the headlights. Jones did make a nice break up the middle for the sack on the sitting duck, to mix metaphors.
I see in Jones the same guy I've seen before...opportunistic, cagy, second effort guy...similar to Neal. But not a playmaker. He looks a bit heavier than last season, if that means anything.
Raji: He was regularly double teamed on the nose. He did didn't get blown out of the plays; he didn't get off any blocks either. Need to see more.
Pennel looked a little more athletic than his past self, sliding to gaps instead of just standing up in front of the center.
In general, to my eye it looks like Capers may be going to a more aggressive gap play/jet rush approach that worked well in 2010. I welcome that. Take the game to the opponent.
In summary, this was a game to build on. But it's too early to get overly enthusiastic...that NE O-line with 3 rookies is in the early stages of the jelling process. I'd like to see the good things shown in this game repeated against a more veteran line.
LB:
If Ryan doesn't beat out Palmer I'll be surprised. On the 55 yard run, Mulumba didn't get off the block but held his ground, Dix took a bad angle which didn't help matters, but Palmer fell down unblocked. Palmer looked like the player I thought he was, lacking in aggressiveness...I'm not sure he'd be an upgrade over Jones. Ryan on the other hand was all around the ball, with good anticipation and instincts.
Bradford looks generally clueless when he isn't pass rushing from the middle. Unless he's doing stuff on special teams I didn't notice, he could be out the door.
Hubbard looked equally clueless.
Elliot and Mulumba are a study in contrasts. Elliot is athletic, aggressive, active and prone to mistakes. I suspect he's doing some freelancing out there. Mulumba looks solid, assignment-sure, good tackler. Mulumba is the more well-rounded player and is understandably in front of the other backups on the depth chart with Perry and Neal on the sidelines. He might even pass up one of those guys. Elliot could be the player in OLB backup group if he can put some consistency together with the flash plays.
DB:
I put Rollins and Gunter in a tie for close 2nd. to Gaston for the "Pleasant Surprise Award".
Gunter has an interesting technique. He stays in physical contact with the receiver as they run downfield, without getting handsy which would draw the call. This keeps the receiver from getting in full stride...this is how he compensates for lack of long speed and why his "field speed" looks better than the 40 time.
Rollins had a good game...he did not give up much separation, has good ball recognition, and had the two long ball break-ups. He looks pretty darn good for a guy who only played one year of college football. A good start for a guy with upside. Right now, preliminarily, it's looking like we lose nothing with Rollins over House.
I have to restrain my enthusiasm for the time being. Jimmy G. was under-throwing those deep balls to a set of shaky wideouts. We have to see what these guys can do against better competition.
Kickers:
As noted previously, Gostkoski did not allow a KO to be returned. Compare and contrast to Crosby...all 5 of his KOs were returned. Crosby's TB-to-return ratio has been up and down over his career, ranking anywhere from middle of the pack one season to near the bottom in others. If this is the way it's going to go in 2015, then the KO coverage team needs to be effective.
Crosby's 5 KO's went to the -5, -3, 2, -2 and -3 yard lines, for an average of -2.2. The return team yielded a 24.6 yard average on those 5 returns, so NE's average KO starting position was the 22.4 yard line, with a long return of 35 yards.
It's just one preseason game, but if they can take this into the season it will be a win.
Mathay had 2 punts. He had plenty of time on both. They went for 33 and 35 yards. However, both were fair caught inside the 20...win, win. Averages can sometimes be deceiving.
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what if they happen at the end of the year and we end up losing a NFC championship game in overtime because we can't score TD's or convert 4th downs?
It is preseason, and there's a long ways to go, but this isn't exactly a new thing and until it's fixed, it ain't fixed
Carl
Cheesehead
The redzone offense was a problem in exactly two games last year and against good defenses too. They were 11th overall. For some reason fans think it was terrible all the time because it happened in the NFC championship game.
It's just preseason, the first game of preseason actually, and there is nothing to worry about until it become a frequent issue in games that actually matter.
TJV
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With two huge caveats – it was the first preseason game and at least one report had the Pats sitting their entire starting O except for Brady, here are my takes from the game:
• Too many dropped passes. Adams has to make those catches if he’s going to live up to Rodgers’ praise.
• Bakhtiari and Barclay looked very bad on some pass blocks – Barclay is coming back from injury but there was no excuse for Bakhtiari not moving his feet on a couple of pass blocks.
• I thought Perillo did well before getting concussed, but I didn’t focus on his run blocking. A run blocking TE who possess an average threat for a TE in the passing game would help. Particularly in the red zone.
• Harris looked to run pretty well for a guy that big.
• Montgomery had a nice catch and a good block that helped spring Harris for a TD. He needs to work on knowing where he is on the field but I’m confident he’ll improve.
• I thought Tolzien looked good. Not perfect but good. Very important that he handled the no huddle so well. If Rodgers does miss some time, not having to scale back the playbook will be important. Both he and Rodgers were the victims of dropped passes.
• Reason 5,347 we’re all lucky I’m not the GM and Thompson is: Brett Hundley. For his first NFL action he looked poised – the game certainly didn’t look too big for him. He’s got a very good arm and reports are he’s smart and very eager to learn.
As I mentioned above I think an extra caveat applies regarding the Packers’ D. With that in mind:
• So Gunter is this really slow guy except when he’s on the field? I don’t doubt his bad 40 times but he didn’t look particularly slow and he looks like a gamer. Sure, they shouldn’t leave him on an island against a 4.3 guy but he’s a keeper.
• Rollins looked good and could have had a couple INTs on passes he “just” broke up. He came up strong and nailed White causing him to drop a pass, so he should’ve been credited with 3 passes defended. He was aggressive against the pass and run. One story said he looked better outside than in the slot and that’s fine because Hyde, Hayward and probably Randall can play inside. They need (at least) depth outside.
• Jake Ryan had a couple of nice plays – and they had him rushing at ROLB on a few obvious passing downs.
• Some good pass pressure from a variety of players. Eliot still looks quick around the corner and on one play in particular, I noticed he really dipped his inside shoulder well as he took a “right angle” to the QB. Mulumba had a couple of nice plays and I thought Pennel and Gaston did well.
• Yes it’s very early, but I hope this is a wakeup call for HHCD. There’s reason to be excited about the Packers safeties but HHCD can’t take tackling for granted. (Much as I hate to say it, I wish the Packers would teach the D the techniques in Seattle's ‘how to tackle’ video.)
In spite of not knowing the caliber of the opposition throughout the game, it was nice to have the Packers’ backups look like they knew what they were doing – even with the mistakes made. In the past even when the Packers fielded good teams, in preseason at times it seemed like the Packers second and third team offenses (in particular) hadn’t practiced. That certainly wasn’t the case last night.
• Too many dropped passes. Adams has to make those catches if he’s going to live up to Rodgers’ praise.
• Bakhtiari and Barclay looked very bad on some pass blocks – Barclay is coming back from injury but there was no excuse for Bakhtiari not moving his feet on a couple of pass blocks.
• I thought Perillo did well before getting concussed, but I didn’t focus on his run blocking. A run blocking TE who possess an average threat for a TE in the passing game would help. Particularly in the red zone.
• Harris looked to run pretty well for a guy that big.
• Montgomery had a nice catch and a good block that helped spring Harris for a TD. He needs to work on knowing where he is on the field but I’m confident he’ll improve.
• I thought Tolzien looked good. Not perfect but good. Very important that he handled the no huddle so well. If Rodgers does miss some time, not having to scale back the playbook will be important. Both he and Rodgers were the victims of dropped passes.
• Reason 5,347 we’re all lucky I’m not the GM and Thompson is: Brett Hundley. For his first NFL action he looked poised – the game certainly didn’t look too big for him. He’s got a very good arm and reports are he’s smart and very eager to learn.
As I mentioned above I think an extra caveat applies regarding the Packers’ D. With that in mind:
• So Gunter is this really slow guy except when he’s on the field? I don’t doubt his bad 40 times but he didn’t look particularly slow and he looks like a gamer. Sure, they shouldn’t leave him on an island against a 4.3 guy but he’s a keeper.
• Rollins looked good and could have had a couple INTs on passes he “just” broke up. He came up strong and nailed White causing him to drop a pass, so he should’ve been credited with 3 passes defended. He was aggressive against the pass and run. One story said he looked better outside than in the slot and that’s fine because Hyde, Hayward and probably Randall can play inside. They need (at least) depth outside.
• Jake Ryan had a couple of nice plays – and they had him rushing at ROLB on a few obvious passing downs.
• Some good pass pressure from a variety of players. Eliot still looks quick around the corner and on one play in particular, I noticed he really dipped his inside shoulder well as he took a “right angle” to the QB. Mulumba had a couple of nice plays and I thought Pennel and Gaston did well.
• Yes it’s very early, but I hope this is a wakeup call for HHCD. There’s reason to be excited about the Packers safeties but HHCD can’t take tackling for granted. (Much as I hate to say it, I wish the Packers would teach the D the techniques in Seattle's ‘how to tackle’ video.)
In spite of not knowing the caliber of the opposition throughout the game, it was nice to have the Packers’ backups look like they knew what they were doing – even with the mistakes made. In the past even when the Packers fielded good teams, in preseason at times it seemed like the Packers second and third team offenses (in particular) hadn’t practiced. That certainly wasn’t the case last night.
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Like an NFC championship game that we lose in overtime because we can't score from inside the 3 yard line despite multiple drives and opportunities, you mean a time like that when it matters?
Carl
Cheesehead
Just going to ignore all the other mistakes and blame it only on the red zone offense? That makes sense....
Like I just said, having issues in the red zone 2 times last season does not make it an on going problem.
Not to rehash, but yes, not a single other mistake would even be discussed, because it wouldn't have mattered if we could have converted just once out of all those tries. Just once.
but if you really care to read thru my posting history, it's clear i haven't ignored everything else. and scoring 20 TD's from the redzone against teams we're blowing out isn't impressive. failing to convert on multiple drives from inside the 3 is concerning especially when given repeated opportunities to just beat the guy across from you. ignoring that doesn't really make sense either.
but if you really care to read thru my posting history, it's clear i haven't ignored everything else. and scoring 20 TD's from the redzone against teams we're blowing out isn't impressive. failing to convert on multiple drives from inside the 3 is concerning especially when given repeated opportunities to just beat the guy across from you. ignoring that doesn't really make sense either.
JK64
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Yeah, Baktiari got a wake up call by the NE DE pass rushers. He really does need to improve. He played better than that last year.
Carl
Cheesehead
You did ignore them in your last post.
The red zone offense hurt us once last year so it's not a recurring problem. Right now it's preseason and I will never understand why anyone ever gets concerned about things that happen in it (other than injuries). We can agree to disagree.
JK64
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Elliot was impressive last preseason too, but then he kinda disappeared during the regular season, when going up against starters. I hope he can continue his good play.
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Great and thorough reports TJV and HRE! You both get an A in my book.
Very good news on Gaston, Pennel,Gunter, Rollins & Ryan.
Guys that hopefully will outplay their salary.
Very good news on Gaston, Pennel,Gunter, Rollins & Ryan.
Guys that hopefully will outplay their salary.
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