Green Bay’s performance on Sunday was a tale of two halves. This was especially the case with Aaron Rodgers and the offense. In the first half Green Bay struggled to find any rhythm and only mustered 7 points. Even the first half touchdown drive was aided by a very questionable 33 yard penalty on Adam Jones.

When the pressure was on, however, Green Bay’s offense and especially Aaron Rodgers answered the call. Rodgers made one of the worst decisions of his career earlier in the game with a brutal pick 6 to William Jackson but more than made up for it at the end of the game. Rodgers gave one of his best comeback performances, leading Green Bay on a 12 play – 75 yard drive in 3 minutes and 29 seconds to tie the game. The touchdown pass to Nelson was a perfect pass in a tight window. There were multiple tight window and clutch throws throughout that final drive including a 3^rd down laser to Geronimo Allison.

What a throw, man. Just...what a throw. #Packers #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/40bIhTOzcO

— Dusty All 22 (@All22Talk) September 26, 2017

Rodgers would of course go on to hit Geronimo Allison for a 72 yard catch and run in overtime to clinch the game. While we have yet to see a complete performance from the offense, the last two scoring drives saved Green bay from falling to 1-2 on the season.

Top 3 Performers

Aaron Rodgers +6.00
Geronimo Allison +2.35
Jordy Nelson +1.95

Bottom 3 Performers

Kyle Murphy -4.45
Martellus Bennett -1.30
Bryan Bulaga -0.5
 

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers +6.0

As mentioned above, the pick six from Rodgers will go down as one of the worst throws of his career. This play graded as a -2.0 for me, the worst grade an individual play can have. Even despite that, Rodgers ended with a +6.0 grade. His performance on the final two drives of the game, especially on the 12 play – 75 yard drive, was MVP-esque. Rodgers hasn’t reached peak Aaron Rodgers level yet, but he showed flashes of it in the 2^nd half.

Just Aaron Rodgers being Aaron Rodgers. pic.twitter.com/SsvweyWyAW

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) September 27, 2017

Running Back

Ty Montgomery +0.85
Jamaal Williams +0.1
Aaron Ripkowski -0.25

The offensive line simply didn’t generate enough space for Montgomery to do much work. Montgomery did miss on a couple chips in pass protection but held up well one-on-one when needed. Overall Montgomery has really emerged as a well-rounded back who runs hard, falls forward, catches the ball with ease, and is assignment sure in pass protection. You can’t ask for anything more out of a player with such little experience at the position.

Montgomery is such a patient runner. Go down the line, find a hole & hit it hard. Hasn't had many holes to run through so far. #Packers pic.twitter.com/ZFgjItczjH

— Dusty All 22 (@All22Talk) September 26, 2017

Wide Receiver

Geronimo Allison +2.35
Jordy Nelson +1.95
Davante Adams +1.05

As Packer fans we’ve talked quite a bit about the second year leap that Geronimo Allison has made. On Sunday, the rest of the NFL was introduced to exactly the type of player he’s become. Allison was crisp in his routes and made multiple huge catches in this game. It was his breakout performance to be sure and Green Bay now has four wide receivers who can go out and win their matchup on any given play.

How much does GB trust @813Geronimo? 4th qtr, 3rd & 11, 3:01 left on own 43. This play was for 81 all the way. Arguably the play of the game pic.twitter.com/qdDSIepip6

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) September 27, 2017

Tight End

Lance Kendricks +0.5
Richard Rodgers -0.25
Martellus Bennett -1.3

For three weeks now I’ve been writing about how Martellus Bennett hasn’t looked like the player that Green Bay was expecting. This has seemed to gain some traction this week in the local media. Part of the problem is that Bennett is a possession receiver who wins at the point of attack. Rodgers generally doesn’t throw to these types of players as he prefers a clean passing lane and separation by the receiver. Rodgers and Bennett need to find a rhythm together and when Bennett does get thrown the ball, he needs to catch it. This offense won’t reach the level of performance that it needs unless the tight ends start performing better. That starts with Bennett.

Bennett dropped this, but a great quick throw from Rodgers (and a terrific grab of the off-target snap). #Packers #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/enfpUSu311

— Dusty All 22 (@All22Talk) September 26, 2017

Offensive Line

Corey Linsley +1.85
Lane Taylor +1.55
Jahri Evans -0.1
Justin McCray -0.45
Bryan Bulaga -0.5
Kyle Murphy -4.45

There’s no way to sugar coat Murphy’s performance in this game, he really struggled to stay in front of his defender and struggled with just about every type of pass rush imaginable. That said, he’s a 2^nd year player playing out of position with very little practice time at left tackle. It’s tough to applaud him for an effort that left Rodgers scrambling all day, but Murphy’s performance wasn’t for lack of effort. Bryan Bulaga didn’t look quite himself coming off the injury and you could tell he was either hampered by the injury or shaking off some rust. McCray struggled when being thrust into action late in the 1^st half, but performed much better after settling in.

To find an updated, running total of the grades throughout the season, click here: https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/grading-the-pack-regular-season-totals-454

How I Grade

• Each player starts by getting a zero or neutral grade on a play. If they performed as expected on a play, their grade stays at zero.
• For a slightly above or below average play, the player gets graded -0.1 or +0.1. The vast majority of grades on the vast majority of plays are graded -0.1, 0, or +0.1.
• The highest and lowest grades on an individual play are +2.0 and -2.0 respectively. These would be large, game-changing plays.
• I won’t grade a play negatively if I cannot tell which player was at fault.
• Most of the time it’s impossible to tell the play, so I’m not grading on the execution of the play call as an NFL coach would.
• The goal of this exercise is to grade every snap over the course of the season to get a long-term view of which performers are performing well and which are not meeting expectations. This is very similar to what Pro Football Focus tries to achieve. Is it perfect? No. But what you are getting is a consistent grader who is watching specifically Packer games and putting multiple hours into every week to breakdown film and assign grades.
• Grades are for offense and defense only (including two point conversions). Special teams does not factor in.
• Preseason does not have All-22 film which makes this exercise even more challenging than usual
• Bigger plays in the game such as a 4^th and 1 or a two-point conversion are weighted higher than say a normal 1^st and 10 play to start the game.
• Lastly, the grades do not necessarily reflect who the best players are on an overall basis. As an example, Morgan Burnett may grade almost two full points below Jermaine Whitehead. Does this mean that Whitehead is the superior player to Burnett? No. It means that given the opportunities each player was given, Whitehead performed at a higher level for this individual game.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment below!