Gut Reactions: 2014 Preseason Game 2 vs the Rams

Aaron's Gut Reactions from  the Packers' preaseason win over the Raiders. 

  • I have a serious man-crush on Eddie Lacy. 
  • I think it was actually a good development that the starting offense (minus Lacy) bogged down there for a few drives. As much as we all love Rodgers and the guys on the offensive side of the ball, the NFL is a tough league. Moving the ball is hard. They finally found a rhythm, but it's good they had to struggle after their initial success to find their groove. 
  • The starting offensive line in particular started well and then seemed to relax. They got pushed around a bit after that first series, but they all seemed to right the ship. 
  • Good call by Twitter follower Tom Bacon who noticed Tretter's injury the moment it happened. Tretter was called for the penalty on the 4th down play on the following drive. If he's 100%, I bet he makes that block. 
  • The pass interference call against Sam Shields - if that gets called during the regular season, just fold up the league. 
  • Great bounce-back game from DuJaun Harris tonight, who all but locked up the #3 RB spot. 
  • Derek Sherrod had a nice bounce-back game himself. 
  • Jeff Janis is raw as hell, but I still think he makes the team. 
  • Alex Gillett probably doesn't, but he should be on an NFL roster. 
  • I would have liked to have seen Jayrone Elliott flash against the starters at the start of the second half, but he certainly made his case to stick around tonight. 
  • Going to be very tough for the Packers to cut Jumal Rolle. 
  • As I said last week, Scott Tolzien is your backup. Cut Flynn. He'll be there if you need him.
  • I hope McCarthy goes for two on every single touchdown during the regular season as well. 
  • That throw from Rodgers to Quarless for the touchdown? I'm going to see that in my sleep. 
  • Randall Cobb had a tough night. 
  • Richard Rodgers got abused on the blitz pick up where Rodgers got thrown to the ground. He's still your starter at TE.
  • It's 31-0 at the half in Seattle. The Bears even suck in preseason. 
  • Speaking of Seattle, doubt we see Rodgers or Lacy again until opening night. 
  • Go Pack Go. 

 

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Comments (38)

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PackerAaron's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:50 pm

Why? WHY do you have to make it about Stroh? Just shut up about other posters - make it about the Packers.

You were warned. Enjoy being banned.

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DraftHobbyist's picture

August 23, 2014 at 01:02 am

It probably has something to do with Stroh being condescending to everybody on here, because he thinks he knows more than everybody. Just saying. Go ahead and ban me.

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sonomaca's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:51 pm

They'll keep three. If they really wanted to keep only Tolzien, I think he's have come in against the starters when AR left. We know the NY Giants were going to have Flynn in for a visit. If GB can get a 4th for him, I'd probably take it.

In general, Packers passing game looked a bit out of sync. I think the starters need another quarter next week.

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PackerAaron's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:52 pm

There is no planet in this solar system or the next where a team would give up a draft pick today for Matt Flynn.

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sonomaca's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:55 pm

Well, have you seen Eli trying to run McAdoo's (Packer) offense. It's ugly. I think the Pack was trying to showcase Flynn tonight. Didn't really work, but the Giants might be desperate for someone who knows the offense.

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PackerAaron's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:02 pm

Favre was ugly running McCarthy's offense early on too. The Giants won't panic.

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TKWorldWide's picture

August 23, 2014 at 12:13 am

"and is now chasing down Rodgers"...?

Whoa.

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DraftHobbyist's picture

August 23, 2014 at 01:06 am

That was humorous. I guess I'm going to have to watch what you say more often if you've "never been wrong". I highly doubt that. Tolzien knows he has no chance of beating out Rodgers, and it's not even about Tolzien. It's about Rodgers. Some QB's just get so good that teams don't even consider replacing them. Rodgers is that good right now.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

August 23, 2014 at 09:53 am

Tolzien; it's spelt Tolzien; is going to have to score more than one touchdown against third stringers to convince me.

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WilsonMaywick's picture

August 23, 2014 at 02:03 pm

"I have never been wrong yet on my predictions on these players. " Then why are you not on the Packers' payroll? Come back to earth son.

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JerseyAl's picture

August 23, 2014 at 04:24 pm

You're wrong. there is a bizzaro world somewhere where that would sooooo happen.

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4thand1's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:52 pm

All the flags sucked. Rodgers will not force a throw. Running game is great. Back up QB to be decided next week. Defense over all played pretty good.

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sonomaca's picture

August 22, 2014 at 10:58 pm

Injuries: Tretter, Jones, Raji. Barrington and Lattimore did well, so I'm not too worried about Jones. Pennel is backup nose, so that might be ok. Linsley might be questionable.

Davon House had a great game, BTW.

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PackerAaron's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:03 pm

Agreed on House. Won't be surprised if teams call about him. Doubt Ted lets him go though.

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DraftHobbyist's picture

August 23, 2014 at 01:07 am

We would have to get A LOT for House. I'm talking a first rounder. It would be stupid to trade House when Hayward is chronically injured and Williams is gone next year. We'd be more likely to trade Williams.

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DraftHobbyist's picture

August 23, 2014 at 01:10 am

Nice to see people finally getting on my Pennel bandwagon. I wouldn't say he's dominating, but he's good for a guy that wasn't supposed to make the roster. I watched him early on and really liked what I saw. But when something like this happens, you not only have to look at who fills in for your starter, but also who fills in for the backup. Losing Raji would be a huge deal. I guess this is the first time you've ever been wrong, because I don't see any way Pennel beats Raji's 6.5 sack season.

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Tundraboy's picture

August 24, 2014 at 10:38 am

Don't know about the player predictions but I sure hope you are right about Pennel

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RCPackerFan's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:30 pm

Man I love the Packers.

This offense is unbelievable with Lacy. I like Starks and Harris but Lacy is just a man among boys. Speaking of Harris, he really looks like a smaller quicker version of Lacy. He also seems to be doing well returning kicks.

Very impressed with the defense tonight. I can't wait to see this new pass rush. Peppers and Mathews could be the best pair of rushers we have had in a long time. Then throw in guys that can rotate with them (Neal, Perry) I think we are going to have a much improved pass rush.
And also I am really liking our secondary. House had a monster game. Hyde is just a good football player.

4 young players I think have earned roster spots up to this point are Janis, Elliot, Pennel, Rolle.

I can't wait till Seattle. I think we match up really well against them. Rodgers and the passing game to go with Lacy and our rushing game makes for a very tough offense. Our defense I think will surprise some people.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

August 23, 2014 at 09:56 am

"Janis, Elliot, Pennel"

I'm excited about these guys too. Thompson sure does a nice job finding these under the radar players.

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Mojo's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:36 pm

The PI on Shield was an absolute joke. If they keep calling them like that, every team in the league will be forcing passes to receivers all game long. The running games will be an afterthought. Shame, since we finally have a high caliber RB and what should be and excellent running game.

Didn't know Tretter was hurt. If it's serious, our line has become thin very quickly.

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Packatron's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:36 pm

My guts:
1.) Harris looked better than Starks tonight, IMO. Better burst and cuts. Had a great blitz pickup. Looked like a damn wrecking ball. Wouldn't be surprised if the depth chart looked a little different soon. Starks did have a pretty nice catch out of the backfield on that one play tho.

2.) I hope Elliot blows peoples minds in the next game. I hope the roster isn't too tight to let him go.

3.) my mind is saying keep both backup QBs. But my gut is saying just go with the young buck.

4. I wish we would have traded up to get Khalil Mack. Dudes a straight beast. Would have made our D scary.

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jmac34's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:50 pm

1. I really don't see Starks getting supplanted by Harris after one game. I think starks has the number 2 job pretty firmly held and I think Harris nailed down the third spot tonight.
2. Completely agree on Elliot. He is a beast.
3. I agree with aaron on this one. Flynn will be there if needed, but I bet Tolzien wouldn't be.
4. I don't think GB could have moved up to 5 without giving up a ton of picks from this years and next years draft. It would not have been worth it, especially considering the importance in the draft for gb

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jmac34's picture

August 22, 2014 at 11:43 pm

Always enjoyable to see the bears getting crushed. There is no way they can cut Elliot at this point, right? I still think Janis makes the 53 man roster but he might not make the active roster on gameday esp the first two weeks. Hopefully he gets more chances to return punts next week.

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Aeric's picture

August 23, 2014 at 02:06 am

Yes. The Bears getting taken apart up in Seattle is like delicious. Sherrod on grass is something.. on turf he was something else and it smelled bad. Harris must cause concern for D-coordinators behind Starks and Eddie Lacy..if they are not concerned they will be. Richard Rogers looks like he could develop into a massive manbeast. Go Pack!!

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zeke's picture

August 23, 2014 at 09:57 pm

Your prediction -- before Raji went down -- was that GB would go 8-8. You thought 8-8 would be good enough for home field advantage? And now the whole season will be determined by the first game, which is a sure loss because BJ Raji won't play. Wow. Sucks to be a Packer fan.

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JerseyAl's picture

August 23, 2014 at 04:25 pm

"The Bears and Packers are pretty equal."

Stop. Right. There. Ridiculous statement.

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Spiderpack's picture

August 23, 2014 at 03:17 am

I wish the "go for 2 thing" could work for us that well in the regular season, but the defenses are much much better. We would lose 2 maybe 3 games this year if we went for 2 on every TD.

Love the idea though.

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Spiderpack's picture

August 23, 2014 at 03:32 am

I know Flynn would more likely be there than Scoots would after the cuts. But I just don't know about trusting Scoots with our season vs trusting Flynn. If ARodge gets injured, do you really want Tolzien instead of Flynn during week 12 - 17 when we are battling the new Jim Caldwell-lead high-powered Detroit Lions offense when theres a win-or-we-go-home game?? Or any other playoff bound team for that matter? Flynn is a gamer, and this year, for the time being, that value can't be matched.

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JMB's picture

August 23, 2014 at 09:29 am

Did you see Flynn versus Detroit last year? Can't imagine Tolzien much worse than that. Plus, let's be honest - if Rodgers goes down for any extended period of time, we aren't going to be planning any parades.

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sonomaca's picture

August 23, 2014 at 09:48 am

The Detroit game wasn't Flynn's fault. Protection just wasn't there. Does anyone remember the Minnesota game, where Flynn got on his white horse and came to Tolzien's rescue in what should have been a win but ended in a tie? Had Flynn not performed miracles that day, the game in Chicago would have been meaningless and there would have been no playoff game against San Francisco. Ditto for the Dallas game, where Flynn treated us heroics once again.

Here's the bottom line folks: Flynn delivers under pressure. We have no idea if Tolzien is capable of doing that. What happens if Rodgers is hurt, and Tolzien can't do the job, as happened last season? What then, if Flynn is a NY Giant? Had Buffalo not released him last year, Green Bay would not have made the playoffs.

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2014 at 01:25 am

Tolzien didn't know the offense well enough to even audible, he could barely flip the plays.

He wasn't in the system long enough to digest the playbook.

Tolzien has now gone through a season, an offseason, OTA's and training camp in MM's offense. Flynn has many years, QB schools, etc in the system.

Last season was not a gauge of Tolzien's ability and talent. This year, we are starting to see him scratch the surface of his potential because he now grasps the concepts, knows the verbage.

By the way, he looks good, too.

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2014 at 06:32 pm

I don't believe there is anyone in the rational, sane world that would agree with you that Tolzien and Flynn had the same grasp of the offense last season.

Furthermore, the running scheme has not been "completely changed" while Flynn was gone.

It's been nice chatting.

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zeke's picture

August 24, 2014 at 02:28 am

The question comes down to whether or not Tolzien has already hit his ceiling, and if not whether his ceiling is higher than Flynn's. Personally I think this a minor issue as GB is going as far as Rodgers can take them, but I think it is too early in Tolzien's development to say that because he didn't deliver last season means that he never can.

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zeke's picture

August 24, 2014 at 08:55 am

You could make the same argument about Seattle, Oakland, and Buffalo with Flynn. Maybe Tolzien's ceiling isn't that high; that's up to TT and MM. But my guess is that if Tolzien were cut today, SF would claim him within an hour. Flynn? Not so much.

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RCPackerFan's picture

August 23, 2014 at 12:59 pm

I am so sick of these devastating injuries each and every year. Can't we have at least one season without a major injury?

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Tundraboy's picture

August 24, 2014 at 10:50 am

So we are are not as good as the Bears but we were Super Bowl bound until Raji went down ?????? What a bummer now I guess there is no point to watching this year? Please stop!!!!

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4thand1's picture

August 24, 2014 at 07:10 am

Teams will attack the Packers up the middle. It is their weakest link. They have speed on the outside to stop Kaepernick and Wilson, I think it was by design.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

August 25, 2014 at 03:02 am

Cow, that was funny. Well done, although 4th and 1 did not say GB wants to suck up the middle on purpose. I do think GB has been trying to get some more outside speed.

As for the middle, Boyd arrived at camp reportedly weighing 328 pounds (I hope the weight gain included some muscle), and Pennel probably will be his back-up as a 2-gapping NT. MM is apparently hiding the nature of his defense from Seattle, but I think GB will need a 2-gapping NT only 10 to 15 snaps per game, since we will be in nickel a lot and other sub packages. Most of the DL will be 1-gapping and penetrating. Sure, I'd like to have a dominant NT (not that I thought so highly of Raji to begin with), but we will see what Boyd and Pennel can do. I don't think Jolly is even a possibility since as far as I know he hasn't been cleared, and probably wouldn't be better at NT than Boyd and Pennel. IMO, Pickett was done (or wore down) last year.

It will be interesting to see what TT does with Guion as to placing him on PUP. MM has said that Guion is getting close to being able to return. Guion has played some NT with Minnesota, and is considered a run-stuffer, but he lacks the bulk normally associated with NT.

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