Random Thoughts...Preseason Game #1 @ San Diego
Rough Start
The opening 6 minutes of the game were a complete trainwreck. The Chargers intensity was not met by the Packers in any phase of the game. Too many mental errors and the overall team execution was pathetic. Bad kickoff return, 1st offense 3 and out, one player short in punt formation, poor punt, and then the 1st defense gave up multiple TD strikes. :(
Coaching
Mike McCarthy did a nice job regrouping the players after the rough start and some progress was made by a few key players. The coaching staff effectively used the replay challenge system twice (including a TD reversal) and made a nice on-side kick call after the Packers tacked on their lone field goal. In a real game these type of decisions can help turn momentum and might help the Packers steal a game that they are outplayed in, like they were last night. I also felt the use of the no-huddle offense after recovering the on-side kick was aggressive and sent the offense an attacking message that was needed at the time. Next week the Packers need to come out ready to play from the opening whistle.
QB's
Favre looked good but Aaron Rodgers stole the show.
- Brett Favre showed that he still has all of the physical tools to play. For the second week in a row he did not throw an INT or have an "oops" pass, even in the face of constant pressure. He did a great job keeping plays alive.
- Aaron Rodgers was the Packers MVP Saturday night. He displayed almost everything that you want to see from your QB of the future. He had great pocket awareness making numerous sidesteps to create more time. He also showed some mobility to pick up a 1st down and even showed nice zip on a few deep passes. He did struggle to end the 1st half managing the clock. The on-field experience should help there a great deal. He looked comfortable in the hurry up during the 3rd quarter and did a great job finding his secondary receivers the entire night.
RB's
No buzz...just waiting for Ahman Green. Nothing at all on 1st & 10 creating poor down and distance situations.
- Najeh Davenport didn't get a lot of work but when he was in there he moved the pile a few times and created positive yardage plays. He didn't show much burst though.
- Noah Herron did little to earn future playing time. Maybe the training camp is starting to take a physical toll on him, maybe he's just coming back down to reality. He could be a nice 3rd down back to use on draws or screens, but he just doesn't look like an every down back to me.
WR's
Solid performance. Few drops compared to last weeks scrimmage.
- Donald Driver is solid and Favre targeted him often in the 1st quarter. He was able to get seperation a few times and just missed hauling in a TD catch on a skinny post route. Solid showing for the veteran.
- Robert Ferguson made the play of the night leaping to hall in a high pass from Brett along the sideline. However, he was nowhere to be found the rest of the 1st half.
- Greg Jennings again showed promise. In the 2nd half he used his hands well in traffic to gain seperation. He made a few nice catches and was much better than the 2nd team cornerbacks of the Chargers. He did make a few rookie mistakes in the 1st half that he'll need to learn from: he was caught by surprise on a "hot" pass from Favre when San Diego blitzed, on a different 3rd down pass he cut his route off a yard or two short of the first down instead of stretching the pattern to move the chains, and then dropped a catchable ball the following play on 4th down. Overall he again looked like a player with upside but tonight we caught a glimpse of a rookie who still needs to improve.
- The rest: Rod Gardner looked better than he did in last weeks scrimmage, Marc Boerigter didn't see the field until late in the contest when he was outfought for a ball in the red zone, and Corey Rodgers got a chance to return a few punts (at least he caught them during the game).
TE's
- After being targeted a great deal in last weeks scrimmage...the tight ends made almost no impact in the first preseason game.
Offensive line
Failure in almost every sense of the word.
The biggest area of concern for the Green Bay Packers at this time. The starting tackles (Tausher and Clifton) looked solid. The center (Wells) looked okay but overall the interior of the line was exposed against San Diego. G Spitz didn't get his hands extended a few times and this led to penetration. G Colledge appears to do a better job in pass protection right now and adjusts well to line stunts but he seems to get off-balance when the Packers attempt to run the ball. The rest: The back-ups were below average and for the second week in a row back-up left tackle Junius Coston looked horribly out of place and was beaten repeatedly.
Defensive line
Little presure was applied to the quarterback.
Looked average against the run (that might be viewed as a negative considering LaDainian Tomlinson didn't play) and looked poor when the Chargers dropped back to pass. A few starters were dinged early on and had their evenings end early, but the back-ups showed little to distinguish themselves. KGB was the lone defensive lineman who created any pressure. He did so on multiple occasions and made a great play to sack Philip Rivers. He also created a false start penalty. The rest: Colin Cole looked solid and showed hustle tracking down plays run to the opposite side of the formation. Mike Montgomery looks like he's playing for the highlight reels because he was freelancing every snap he took...often taking himself completely out of plays. He isn't even going to make the team if that keeps up.
LB's
The linebackers made a lot of tackles and seemed very active, but need work in pass coverage.
- Nick Barnett had another nice game. He seemed to shed blockers well and made a few solid plays in pass coverage. On one play he was too aggressive and found himslef out of position, which opened up a nice hole for a first down.
- A.J. Hawk opened a few eyes during his first real exhibition game. He started off poorly when Antonio Gates made him look very foolish in pass coverage. At this point Hawk is not capable of covering speedy TE's or RB's due to poor technique. Howevr, he did very well making plays sideline to sideline and was always around the ball. Against the run he shows no fear and blew up the FB to close the hole on one short yardage play in particular. The light appears to be turning on for the Packers 1st round pick - he made nice strides from last weeks scrimmage.
- Ben Taylor stayed under control, made solid plays in coverage, showed fundamental tackling ability and timed a blitz well. Nice game for the free agent pick-up.
- On the other hand, Abdul Hodge made a few very physical hits in run defense but looked lost covering TE's and got caught out of position a few times. He showed that flash again, but I just don't see him being ready to start week 1. He did make a nice play on special teams. This and short yardage formations might be how he contributes early.
- The rest: Roy Manning might be losing his back-up LB spot to Tracy White who looked like a keeper against the Chargers. White was a beast on special teams which should only help his cause.
DB's
No big plays...again. Couldn't make plays on 3rd down, which kept too many drives going.
- Charles Woodson played up and down. He each broke up a pass and looked solid playing on an island most of the 1st quarter. He did get a chance to field a punt taking it just 2 yards and was even seen jawing at an official late in the game. I'm not sure what to make of him yet.
- Al Harris looked decent but just a step slow. He was always in position but just didn't get his head around quick enough to make a big play and was even the victim of the TD recpetion (later overturned). He looks like he missed a lot of the OTA's. Of course, he did miss the OTA's due to his contract issue.
- Ahmad Carroll looked like the exact same player that he was under Mike Sherman. Undisciplined and lackidasical with technique. He could have been flagged for a penalty or two (but wasn't) and he did give up another TD. He just doesn't improve on his mistakes.
- Marviel Underwood suffered some type of leg (knee?) injury. He had been impressive early in camp, but the injury didn't look good.
- Tyrone Culver was picked on quite a bit and made a few mistakes. He appeared to keep his head on straight though and he made some adjustments including a nice play in run support to prevent a 1st down. He needs some seasoning yet, but he has solid instincts and will make the team.
- Jason Horton was slow to react in pass coverage and took a poor angle on Michael Turner's TD run. He isn't going to make the cut, nor should he.
K & P
- Billy Cundiff and Jon Ryan did nothing to lose control over their position atop the depth chart at K and P.
Overall, the Packers were outclassed by the Chargers. Green Bay's only saving grace might be a weak schedule and a poor division.
Thanks.
Wow, that was constructive... care to elaborate?
Artificially inflated Pass D ranking.There was only one other team in the entire NFL, that had less passes thrown against them than the Pack. Conversely, only 5 other teams had more rushing attempts against them.Best way to protect a lead when playing against a QB like Favre, is to keep the ball out of his hands. So when teams got out to early leads on the Pack, they just sat on those leads with their run game. This was easy to do, considering how pathetic the Pack's Run D was last year.Teams did not pass on the Pack for two reasons;A.) They didn't need to.& B.) They didn't want to.End result, an artificially inflated Pass D ranking for the Pack. 
There's zero chance he'll be cut.Edwards has a low salary (just ask him), so that's not stopping anyone from trading for him. If another team has an injury or otherwise becomes desperate for a linebacker, Edwards is still on the trading block. A trade could happen anytime from now until October 17. (Remember Fonoti was traded during the season last year, and he was also in the final year of his contract.)
)
LB's are stacked dude.
