Greg C.
Cheesehead
Here's a game summary for those few who missed it.
It was kind of a ho-hum exhibition game, played in the rain. I feel like I know less about the team than I did before the game. Not many players stood out, but not many really stunk it up either. The three stars were Brett Favre, B.J. Sander, and Ryan Longwell. Favre looked very sharp even though the rest of the offense was not. Nine out of ten, and the incompletion was right on the money too.
Sander had his coming-out party tonight. The first kick was a high 42 yarder that was easily downed on the 2 yard line. The next one was a 48 yarder. I think all of his kicks were over 40 yards, including a 53 and a 47, and his hang time was good. Longwell kicked one off out-of-bounds after the TD, but more than made up for it by nailing a 53 yarder in the rain to win the game. On the replay, you could see the look on his face when he kicked the ball. He knew it would be good, even though it wasn't good by much. Sander's hold on the wet field was perfect.
The defense doesn't look a whole lot different from last season, at least not yet. They got gouged pretty good early on (by a Chargers offense that was without Ladanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates), especially with runs to KGB's side, but they did keep the Chargers off the board for awhile. Michael Hawkins didn't show a whole lot tonight. He made a nice tackle, but later he got burned on a TD pass. I can't blame him too much for that one, though, because it was one-on-one coverage and the blitz didn't get to the QB. Al Harris got torched for what should've been a long TD, but luckily the ball was overthrown and incomplete, prompting Harris to applaud vigorously.
On the third play from scrimmage Mark Roman forced a fumble that was scooped up by Ahmad Carroll and returned for a TD, but the refs blew the call, ruling it incomplete even though the receiver had the ball for a good two seconds before it was popped loose. Later, Nick Collins got an interception to end the drive, but it was a Darren Sharper-type interception: a miscommunication between the QB and the receiver, and Collins was playing centerfield. He caught the ball deep in the end zone and foolishly ran it out, making it only to the 12. Ahmad Carroll had a holding penalty that was declined. Arturo Freeman had an illegal contact play that gave the Chargers a first down.
I thought all the linebackers played well. Navies, Barnett, and Manning all made a couple nice plays apiece. The D-line was so-so. Colin Cole did not even get his name mentioned. The only guy who stood out was #96, Michael Montgomery, who is a longshot to make the team. He had a sack and was active on the line of scrimmage against the Chargers' third string.
Aaron Rodgers did not impress. Not that he had much help from his teammates, but when he did have chances to complete passes downfield his throws were off the mark. He did a couple of Brett Favre style jump fakes after handoffs. I wasn't sure what to think of that.
The offense was vanilla, as the coaches obviously wanted to work on the running game with the new O-line. They weren't opening many holes. O'Dwyer had two penalties. The line needs a lot more work. Green and Fisher each fumbled, but Davenport had a couple of decent runs. David Martin caught a pass from Favre for about a 20 yard gain, and Driver had a nice TD catch.
It was nice to get the win, with Longwell providing some excitement at the end. The crowd deserved it after sitting in the rain for three hours. Almost all of them stayed into the fourth quarter, but by the end there were a lot of empty seats.
It was kind of a ho-hum exhibition game, played in the rain. I feel like I know less about the team than I did before the game. Not many players stood out, but not many really stunk it up either. The three stars were Brett Favre, B.J. Sander, and Ryan Longwell. Favre looked very sharp even though the rest of the offense was not. Nine out of ten, and the incompletion was right on the money too.
Sander had his coming-out party tonight. The first kick was a high 42 yarder that was easily downed on the 2 yard line. The next one was a 48 yarder. I think all of his kicks were over 40 yards, including a 53 and a 47, and his hang time was good. Longwell kicked one off out-of-bounds after the TD, but more than made up for it by nailing a 53 yarder in the rain to win the game. On the replay, you could see the look on his face when he kicked the ball. He knew it would be good, even though it wasn't good by much. Sander's hold on the wet field was perfect.
The defense doesn't look a whole lot different from last season, at least not yet. They got gouged pretty good early on (by a Chargers offense that was without Ladanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates), especially with runs to KGB's side, but they did keep the Chargers off the board for awhile. Michael Hawkins didn't show a whole lot tonight. He made a nice tackle, but later he got burned on a TD pass. I can't blame him too much for that one, though, because it was one-on-one coverage and the blitz didn't get to the QB. Al Harris got torched for what should've been a long TD, but luckily the ball was overthrown and incomplete, prompting Harris to applaud vigorously.
On the third play from scrimmage Mark Roman forced a fumble that was scooped up by Ahmad Carroll and returned for a TD, but the refs blew the call, ruling it incomplete even though the receiver had the ball for a good two seconds before it was popped loose. Later, Nick Collins got an interception to end the drive, but it was a Darren Sharper-type interception: a miscommunication between the QB and the receiver, and Collins was playing centerfield. He caught the ball deep in the end zone and foolishly ran it out, making it only to the 12. Ahmad Carroll had a holding penalty that was declined. Arturo Freeman had an illegal contact play that gave the Chargers a first down.
I thought all the linebackers played well. Navies, Barnett, and Manning all made a couple nice plays apiece. The D-line was so-so. Colin Cole did not even get his name mentioned. The only guy who stood out was #96, Michael Montgomery, who is a longshot to make the team. He had a sack and was active on the line of scrimmage against the Chargers' third string.
Aaron Rodgers did not impress. Not that he had much help from his teammates, but when he did have chances to complete passes downfield his throws were off the mark. He did a couple of Brett Favre style jump fakes after handoffs. I wasn't sure what to think of that.
The offense was vanilla, as the coaches obviously wanted to work on the running game with the new O-line. They weren't opening many holes. O'Dwyer had two penalties. The line needs a lot more work. Green and Fisher each fumbled, but Davenport had a couple of decent runs. David Martin caught a pass from Favre for about a 20 yard gain, and Driver had a nice TD catch.
It was nice to get the win, with Longwell providing some excitement at the end. The crowd deserved it after sitting in the rain for three hours. Almost all of them stayed into the fourth quarter, but by the end there were a lot of empty seats.
