Gut Reactions: Preseason Week One
Aaron's initial thoughts from the Packers' matchup with the Browns.
By PackerAaron
- Since the Packers lost to Cleveland in the preseason opener last year, I guess this means the Packers are winning the Super Bowl.
- Really liked McCarthy going to the no-huddle early. Not only does it give the offense valuable reps with it, it gives the Saints and other future opponents one more thing to have to worry about.
- Rough night for Pat Lee in coverage. He looked good in run support but seemed hesitant in his zone drops and flat out didn't get his head around on the touchdown pass.
- Randall Cobb had a nice night. You can tell he's going to be a monster after the catch - really knows how to work angles once he has the ball in his hands.
- Ryan Taylor looked good in all phases of the game.
- D.J. Williams did some nice things downfield, but the obvious concern is the play where he and T.J. Lang allowed quarterback Graham Harrell to be blindsided. It's hard to know exactly what happened and what the responsibilities were on that play, protection wise.
- There's no confusion about Marshall Newhouse - he looked completely lost at right tackle. I'm pretty sure he's been working exclusively at left tackle so far in camp so that may explain his fish-out-of-water performance a bit, but he looked a step slow out of his stance and pretty overwhelmed in general.
- Say this for the Browns - I think they have a quarterback in Colt McCoy.
- Couple of really nice throws from Matt Flynn, who drove the ball with more power than what we saw last year.
- That touchdown throw from Rodgers to Jennings was insane. Fewer than five quarterbacks in the league make that throw. Of course, it helps that it was a free-play. But still...
- Liked what I saw from Anthony Levine, both from scrimmage and on special teams. Looks to have really taken a step up from where he was last year in camp.
- Ricky Elmore had a rough night.
- So much for the concerns about how the new placement on kickoffs would lead to an abundance of touchbacks, right? And how smooth did Cobb look on returns? It's been far too long since there was a natural talent returning kicks in Green Bay.
- Overall, it was a great first look for the team and a typical preseason game. Lots to watch again on film and lots to improve on before they take on the Cardinals next Friday night.
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Comments (47)
August 13, 2011 at 10:17 pm
If no one got hurt, it's a success.
On another topic- Anyone have any ideas of a Scottsdale bar at which to catch the Bears game in September? I don't think Mabel's does the Packer Sunday thing anymore.
August 13, 2011 at 11:40 pm
You looking for something in the old town area or what?
August 13, 2011 at 11:56 pm
We're staying Gainey Ranch, so Old Town would be ok. Don't want to go much past Bell.
August 13, 2011 at 10:19 pm
I noticed Lee sucking it up - but not Elmore. What did he do so poorly?
I did notice Guy bring some pressure in the 2nd half, but he could never seal the deal, either on the QB or RB.. hopefully he'll continue to improve.
I also noticed TJ Lang being used as Cliffy's backup - I was expecting Sherrod to do that???
August 13, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Why was Newhouse at RT? Musical chairs? How'd my boy Starks look?
August 13, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Starks was a beast as usual. Hit the hole hard.
August 14, 2011 at 09:56 am
Starks is BY FAR, BY FAR the most explosive runner on our team. It's not even close, it's not debatable.
There's more to running than being explosive, but being explosive is a big part of running. It was night and day.
August 15, 2011 at 12:12 am
starks is going to be a stud ryan grant looks like he is old now
August 13, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Don't you think a lot of those kicks five yards deeps in the end zone will be touchbacks in the regular season? Guys probably want to get some work and will take those out in the preseason.
August 14, 2011 at 08:34 am
That's what I thought as well...
August 13, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Cobb needs to potentially work on his routes...
August 14, 2011 at 09:59 am
Oh yeah, it was sloppy, he didn't make his breaks with speed, it was dragged... But with guys like Jennings and Driver on our team, he'll be a good route runner, no questions.
The most important thing about Cobb was his hands. That kid is sure handed. Such a nice break from what we have.
August 13, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Forgot to mention Masthay was a bad-ass!
August 13, 2011 at 10:50 pm
He sure was.
Pat Lee looks terrible when covering with outside leverage. He does not look like a 2nd round pick at all.
August 14, 2011 at 08:35 am
I know it's early, but he looks like an ex-2nd Round pick... can't win them all.
August 14, 2011 at 10:00 am
Man, we have an elite punter. If we only had a decent coverage unit, our punting unit would be fantastic.
That punt that bounced inside the 10 yard line was insane.
August 14, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Been awhile since we put a punter in the pro bowl! He very well could be headed in that direction s early as this season.
I agree on Pat Lee, he sucks.. I want to see Brandian Ross get healthy and take that spot, project or not... Hopefully he fares well on ST's which is the only thing Lee does well anyways. Or Gordy keep stepping it up.
August 13, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Cobb is going to be worth his weight in brats, the kid looks to have "it". Starks is the real deal, just looks natural, smooth running the ball. Came out healthy, thats the most important thing.
GBP 4 LIFE
August 14, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Starks had 2 carries b/c he hurt his ankle
August 13, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Regarding the touchbacks or lack there of....
..The preseason isn't a good indicator because a good majority of return guys are fighting for a roster spot and you won't make the team with touchbacks.
I'm think touchbacks will be much more prevelent in the regular season.
In general, the offense looked good and the defense was just fair. Alot of guys didn't play and that certaily contributed.
August 14, 2011 at 07:17 am
I had the same thoughts.
At the same time, almost all of the returns made it out to or past the 20, even the ones that started 7-8 yards deep. I wonder if teams are going to conclude that the new rules make it harder for the kicking team to get downfield, so it's reasonable to risk it from deeper in the end zone.
August 14, 2011 at 08:38 am
I agree. Once the special team folks get set after the cut-down, then I'll be concerned about Special teams.
August 13, 2011 at 11:08 pm
I thought just about everyone on the Packers looked slow in that game. Was not to impressed with anyone really.
They still have a lot of work to do to get ready for the regular season.
August 13, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Flynn definitely seemed to have more zip on his throws compared to last year. Harrell looked spotty but it was impossible to figure out where the blame should be placed on some of his mistakes.
Cobb looked natural and has me excited.
Most importantly, I think we got out injury free (Cleavland, too). Good first game.
August 13, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I felt sorry for Harrell. It looked like the third team receivers were not getting open, so he either had to force it or hold the ball too long.
August 13, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Nevermind - I guess Starks, Quarless, and Crabtree all sustained some form of injury. Hopefully nothing serious, though.
August 13, 2011 at 11:53 pm
After further review, Jarrett Bush still is unable to cover a receiver, defense a pass, or get to the quarterback on a blitz.And when you blitz from the quarterbacks right, he can see the receiver you just left uncovered is open right behind you. Some one asked "What do you think of the Packers execution tonight?" That may be a bit extreme, just execute certain ones not the whole team.
August 14, 2011 at 01:01 am
Well, I can think of one pass in the not-too-distant past that Bush was able to defend. Don't recall anyone complaining at that time.
August 14, 2011 at 01:05 am
Yeah, what a fickle bunch... How soon they forget.
August 14, 2011 at 08:31 am
even a blind squirrel...yeah, Bush had a nice pick in the SB, but he got burnt on coverage for a TD (if memory serves me.)
I loved what Bush did in ST coverage at the season end and playoff run, but he's always just a little late to make the play in the secondary.
I understand he's a pretty decent guy and I don't have any dislike for the way he conducts himself, but I've been hoping he'd be cut for 3 or 4 years now.
August 14, 2011 at 03:33 pm
He was actually beaten on the play and got lucky that the ball ended up in his hands. One lucky play does not make an all-pro. Reference the Bears touchdown that almost lost the game for us and who blew the coverage.
August 14, 2011 at 01:12 am
"What do you think about the execution of your team"... "I'm all for it"... What coach was that? Stram? That doesn't sound quite right, that era though... Anybody remember?
August 14, 2011 at 07:21 am
John McKay, 1976 Buccaneers (0-14)
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/football/teams/worst.html
Oops. Didn't see FJ responded to this already!
August 14, 2011 at 03:03 am
I think it was John McKay w/ the bucs Fitz.
August 14, 2011 at 06:36 am
On the sack play, it looked like Lang slid to the inside and ended up working a double team, while two guys came free from the outside. Assuming that Lang made a mental error on the play, I thought he otherwise had a pretty decent night. Sherrod, on the other hand, looked over-matched to me. He did not sustain a block on one play, allowing a pressure. On other plays in the same series I thought he was getting beat and allowing pressure. My gut reaction is that he did not play particularly well, and will have to improve quite a bit over the next couple of weeks. And while I'm sure he's capable of getting better, I also remember that the infamous sack-machine that was the O-Line two years ago looked fine in pre-season. I think that the Packers might be better off letting Sherrod sit behind Cliffy while he lasts.
PackerAaron
August 14, 2011 at 10:27 am
"Assuming that Lang made a mental error on the play" - why would you assume that? How do you know DJ Williams wasn't responsible? Hard to say without knowing the protection call...
August 14, 2011 at 03:52 pm
It looked like Williams blew the read. He immediately went up and doubled with the tackle instead of waiting to see where the threat was coming from. But you can't expect a fresh rookie to make every read correctly when the play is checked off at the line. Unfortunately what the average fan remembers is that Harrell had a bad game. I actually thought he looked pretty comfortable considering that his O-line couldn't block and his receivers couldn't get open. He proved at Texas Tech he has the talent.He just needs more reps with the 1's and 2's.
August 14, 2011 at 12:38 pm
That play was a called running play and Harrell checked off at the line to a pass play. If you notice Lang was engaged on that play with and end. The defense saw that and engaged Lang and sent the LB around, bottom line is Harrell will get most the blame on that play.
August 14, 2011 at 07:36 am
I have no idea how he did on his line calls or adjustments, but Nick McDonald set and absorbed really well, didn't give ground. He was quick to the second level. I will trust the film junkies to re-watch and analyze, but McDonald looked solid.
Sitton and Bulaga are going to be rock solid on the right side all year.
August 14, 2011 at 08:34 am
running to the right is noticeably better than to the left.
August 14, 2011 at 10:23 am
Running to the right is always better than running to the left on just about every team, every year. The Packers problem has been that running to the left has been bad to really bad for about 6 years now.
August 14, 2011 at 08:41 am
How does Thompson keep finding these Wide Receivers? He just doesn't strike out. Other teams don't have anywhere near the depth of the Packers in that area... same thing holds true to a lesser degree w/r/t the Tight End...
Our friends directly south would love to have some of our WRs....
August 14, 2011 at 08:44 am
Excellent article about Thompson by Mike Vandermause:
http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110813/PKR07/11081...
August 14, 2011 at 09:55 am
Did anyone else notice the play on the first TD drive when Sitton took out 2 guys? Where is his contract?
August 14, 2011 at 11:42 am
I am beyond excited to watch Cobb return kicks and on bubble screens.
Also beyond excited to see Sitton and Bulaga dominate now that they have a season under their belts together.
August 14, 2011 at 02:45 pm
I thought Grant looked a little sluggish. Could have used a tight end threat on the first drive with Aaron.
Other than that, anyone know more about Starks' ankle?
August 15, 2011 at 12:18 am
ryan grant although probably taking it easy looks like he is aged as a runningback will probably still be an asset running the ball and in the passing game but starks will take over the lead role before the season is out if things continue how they are right now. lang is not a LT i know they are getting looks at people everywhere to see who can do what in case of injuries and whatever else might happen but lang looked good at guard and sloppy at tackle in my opinion. dline played decent was hoping to see pickett running nose more. zombo and walden both looked OK not great. burnett looked good. pat lee has proven he is really not worth keeping around especially with the young guys we have. defense didnt look great because we were missing people in the secondary woodson and shields make a big difference. offense looks like it needs to gel again although they looked good in the 2nd drive. you can tell rodgers has not found his timing just yet over and underthrowing receivers on the long ball to driver driver had to basically stop nd wait for the ball. great play but you can tell the offense needs reps. interested to see the difference a week makes