"Chips Report" From Week 1 Packers Win vs. Saints
Randall Cobb had a fantastic debut and the special teams looked atrocious, but who else received our weekly "Chips Report" distinctions in the Packers 42-34 victory over the Saints in Week 1?
Our weekly "Chips Report" will always include two blue chippers (outstanding, exceptional play), two red chippers (good, though maybe not great) and two cow chips (dud performances). From the Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints...
Blue Chips
- Randall Cobb––The rookie looks both elusive and explosive. He only had two receptions on the game, but he made them count. He made his first career catch in the first quarter on a nondescript three-yard catch, but followed that up on a 32-yard touchdown in which he sliced and diced his way down the field. Then to tie the record for the longest kick return in NFL history is just amazing. He basically did it all himself by keeping his balance and heading up field.
- Aaron Rodgers––He wasn't quite as deadly late in the game as he was early, but this is still a quarterback that knows how to direct an offense, taking advantage of match ups and finding the open receiver. His stats after one quarter were eye-popping: 14 of 15 for 188 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions for a passer rating of 158.3. In the end, he completed an impressive 27 of 35 for 312 yards for the same number of touchdowns and interceptions for a rating of 132.1. The Packers offense wouldn't be nearly as effective without him.
Red Chips
- Jarius Wynn––For at least one game, he made people forget about the loss of Cullen Jenkins. Whether or not he can continue his run of solid play is the next obstacle, but he looks to be in the category of "most improved player." Especially impressive were back-to-back plays late in the third quarter when teamed up with Howard Green to tackle Mark Ingram on third-and-1 to prevent a first down and then on the following play put pressure on quarterback Drew Brees to throw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs. Also finished with sack.
- Donald Driver––It might be more of a lifetime achievement award, but it wasn't a bad single game performance either. Driver had four catches for exactly 41 yards, which tied James Lofton for the franchise's all-time receiving yardage record. He'll have to wait until a later date to break the record, but he's now tied at the top. He also had the crucial catch of a Saints onside kick in the fourth quarter with the game still hanging in the balance.
Cow Chips
- Shawn Slocum––Yes, Randall Cobb had the first kick return for a touchdown in more than a decade, but that's all on Cobb. The blocking schemes didn't get him the touchdown. The damage done by the Saints return units far outweigh any good done by Cobb. Darren Sproles had two punt returns for 92 yards and two kickoff returns for 76 yards, which is unacceptable. No one's losing a job after Week 1, but Slocum in treading on thin ice after years of subpar special teams play.
- Charles Woodson––The retaliatory punch to Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was foolish. Woodson is lucky he didn't get ejected and may get fined for his actions. He also trailed in coverage on Graham when the Saints were able to pull within one score of the Packers in the fourth quarter making the score 42-34.
Comments (27)
September 09, 2011 at 02:15 am
Agree. Woodson disgraced us as fans. Unacceptable. The team should fine him too. Walden had a great game too. Nick Collins had some great hits. Haven't seen much of that from him. Bigby who?
September 09, 2011 at 08:14 am
Disgraced as fans? You're not going to wear your Packer gear anymore out of a sense of shame because of Charles Woodson? Seriously? Man, I must have missed the part of the game where he sacrificed a puppy on a satanic altar. Or maybe he punched a war widow in the back of her neck? C'mon -- he got mad while playing a very physical game and punched a very large man in the torso. He got penalized and admitted to losing his cool. That's all.
September 09, 2011 at 01:29 pm
Lol, well put. wood is the last packer I thought would ever do something like that but its a physical emotional game.... it is disappointing but What are you gonna do?
GBP 4 LIFE
September 09, 2011 at 02:48 am
people hating on what Woodson did really need to get off it. This is a game an emotions and not one of can say our emotions never got the best of us. Sure the 15 yards suck but Woody has given us his all and now with one well placed upper cut to someone the was also hitting after the whistle. These plays happen all day in the trenches but no one sees or cares about them so lets just cool off please
September 09, 2011 at 03:07 am
Agree 100% with this. I didn't really see it as a big deal any more so than any other shoving match that went on. I believe I saw Clay getting into it with some Saints O-liners on a different play...Packers must just be undisciplined (sarcasm). I'm not excusing the punch and penalty, I'm saying that it's a very emotional game and even level-headed players lose their temper at times. From what I hear about what goes on in the average fumble scrum, this is pretty tame.
I am far more annoyed that Woodson got burned in coverage than that he played Rockem Sockem with a giant armored dude who moments before was body slamming him. Getting torched didn't make him unique from most of the secondary, though.
Bush's celebratory sack dance might deserve a cowchip. Saints doing "the belt" in the face of the home crowd certainly did. I thought that they were classier than that.
September 09, 2011 at 04:52 am
Fighting on the field is simply not tolerable. I thought Woodson had matured to the point where he would not engage in fights. I've lost a lot of respect for him because of that jab. At the same time, I'm glad to see that he still has a fire within him to compete fiercely on the football field, but in my eyes what he did was dirty and completely unnecessary. I hope Woodson feels he isn't above McCarthy when he gets a long talk from his coach.
September 09, 2011 at 05:28 am
Sorry to Say but the only respect Woodson cares about is of the other players on the field. If he continues to get pushed around after the play and does not stand up for himself he looses respect of the players on the field(and could also get hurt). I will always side with a player on these types of plays. You have to stand up and say I will not be pushed around
September 09, 2011 at 07:39 am
Just curious but would you be siding with the player if it was a Saints guy punching Finley in the gut?
September 09, 2011 at 08:12 am
Absolutely I would. Look guys I am not speaking as a fan but as a player JFL-College and now coach Personally I would be giving JMike ribs shots for all the BS after every catch.
September 09, 2011 at 03:17 am
Woodson just got caught up in the moment, hope Tramon is ok or we're in trouble. Also was it just me or does Clay look thinner.
September 09, 2011 at 06:36 am
Yes, I remember reading Matthews saying he lost some "fat" in the off-season. Seemed to me Hawk had amazing burst blitzing into the backfield, wow.
September 09, 2011 at 08:07 am
It won't show up in the stat sheet, but Matthews was still every bit the disruptive force. When you force other teams to double and triple team you, someone else is going to come free. Well done.
September 09, 2011 at 05:03 am
No chips for the offensive line. Not only did they play better during pass protection in this game than in any quarter of the preseason, they opened up huge holes for the running game in order to keep the NO defense guessing. We don't win this game without the outstanding play of Scott Wells and excellent run blocking from TJ Lang and Josh Sitton.
September 09, 2011 at 06:10 am
Bulaga may have been the most dominant in run and pass of the bunch.
Brian Carriveau
September 09, 2011 at 06:40 am
The offensive line did great. Almost hard to single out any player. Scott Wells in particular was fantastic.
September 09, 2011 at 05:26 am
Cobb didn't do the return on his own, John Kuhn kept the return alive by picking him up after he was flipped by the tackle and giving him a helpful shove downfield. Did the same thing on a Starks rush deep in their own territory. What a team player.
September 09, 2011 at 06:33 am
ANy word on T. Williams?
Next man up I guess? how ready is D House?
Thank goodness the Panthers are up next.
September 09, 2011 at 06:38 am
This means Woodson will be doing a lot less blitzing, which in turn will mean less Clay sacks.
September 09, 2011 at 07:16 am
Mr. Wynn, I am sorry for doubting you. Please do that again.
Dumping Darren Colledge was a good move. It paid off last night, and it will pay off against Detroit. Beef counters beef. Lang looks all lumpy, but he can push.
Finley blew a pass protection. I would have given him a cow chip for that and not knowing where to line up to block on a run play. I'm sure he didn't get one because he is so freaking unstoppable when catching the ball, but in my book, he should work on being a complete player. He can't get marginally better as a receiver. His blocking could improve by leaps and bounds. As Mr. Joel said, "Is that all you get for your money?"
September 09, 2011 at 07:39 am
I seriously hope the James Jones extension doesn't prevent a Jordy Nelson extension. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
What an amazing game. The defense bent but didn't break, which is as much as you can really ask for against a team like the Saints.
September 09, 2011 at 07:46 am
Good thing we keep drafting and keeping tight ends and linebackers to provide Shawn Slocum with that perfect special teams 'body type'. That man teaches NOTHING. Horrible angles. Horrible 'blocking' schemes. Overpursuit across the board. You give 30 other special teams coaches a roster like we have full of young talented guys, they are frothing at the mouth. Fire him. Today. Move on.
September 09, 2011 at 08:55 am
Cow chip for AJ Hawk.
September 09, 2011 at 09:27 am
Bishop got caught guessing quite a bit as well, regardless of his tackles stat line. Neither linebacker had a good game. The Saints offense probably stresses that linebacking core more than any they'll see the entire season.
Both guys struggled. Hawk progressed in coverage last year, will need to this year in the same fashion. Bishop gets washed when he guesses.
September 09, 2011 at 09:19 am
agree 100% on wynn. he had good pursuit on that failed fourth and inches. If neal gets healthy their d line could easily be better than last year.
also kuhn deserves a small kudo for helping cobb stay up on that return.
September 09, 2011 at 10:23 am
FIRE SLOCUM! I'm not one to overreact, actually yes I am, but he can't get it done and it almost always costs us.
September 09, 2011 at 01:33 pm
The thing is, after 3 years, it's not overreaction.
September 09, 2011 at 03:31 pm
Just an FYI. It looked like to me that on a series in the second-half, Rodgers forced a couple throws to DD in order to get Donald the record at home. Both players admitted after the game they were conscience of how many yards DD had and how close he was to the record. Not a big deal except the two forced incompletions led to a three-and-out deep in GB territory. It could just be A-Rod had no one else open. With a team as potent as N.O. every series and every point counts.