Preseason game 1: Houston vs. GB

[Mondio]

I don't think Webb looked all that great other than his ability to beat the very poor tackle attempts on some big 3rd down plays and his scrambling ability. When It's Blake martinez and other starters rather than #40 playing poorly it probably won't work so well. Throwing the ball wasn't any different from what i saw.

 

[gbgary]

so...there were quite a few bright spots but it was about what you'd expect from a bunch of backups in the first preseason game. not concerned about anything except injuries. didn't see the burks injury. was it bad?

 

[Mondio]

so...there were quite a few bright spots but it was about what you'd expect from a bunch of backups in the first preseason game. not concerned about anything except injuries. didn't see the burks injury. was it bad?

He came shooting in the back field and then broke down to make a tackle awkwardly. Couldn't tell if it was a groin issue? Shoulder? Looked like he turned what would have been a nice tackle into something awkward that put all sorts of body parts in a compromising position. But I haven't heard anything official.

 

[rodell330]

I think Kumerow is the second best WR on the roster. Everytime I’ve seen him play he stood out. Runs good routes and makes the routine catch.

 

[gonzozab]

Gary: He got some pressure but I'm a little disappointed in not seeing improvement in his hand technique, the one area in his college tape that needed improvement. He lets the OT get into his body. The dude showed he is fast off the snap and plenty strong, speed to power, but we knew that already.

I was at the game lastnight and made a point to watch him and see if he proves me wrong about him. So far I'm not impressed. A total non-factor.

 

[Dantés]

"I was at the game last night to experience some confirmation bias."

 

[RepStar15]

Player(s) I was most impressed by: Kabian Ento and Darius Shepard
Player(s) I was most disappointed by: J'Mon Moore and Rashan Gary
Player(s) that showed promise but need work: Ty Summers, he was all over the place, but was clearly gased by the second half. Missed a ton of tackles in the second half of the game, but in the beginning was sideline to sideline. Dexter Williams, was just the opposite. Started off slower, but then found some holes towards the end of the game. At the same time the Texans had a roster of players that will likely get cut when he stepped into his own.

 

[AmishMafia]

I think Kumerow is the second best WR on the roster. Everytime I’ve seen him play he stood out. Runs good routes and makes the routine catch.

He appears to be very good. GMo, MVS and Kumer are all battling for the #2. Will be curious to watch this battle in preseason unfold. Saw article recently saying Kumerow sewed up a roster spot. I thought that was a given, the question at this point should be if he starts.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

While I realize that Gary was probably mostly playing against Texan second stringers, I wouldn't be too alarmed by what you saw last night. I say this for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he is a rookie and has a lot to learn. I could be wrong, but I doubt Khalil Mack came out and absolutely destroyed people in his first preseason game. As a matter of fact, he played in every game his rookie season and had 4 sacks. Second, Gary was pretty much surrounded by backups. Put Kenny Clark and the Smith Brothers in there and lets see what happens.

Basically, for all of those "anti Gary fanatics", it is far too soon to say "I told you so". Nor will I jump up and call him the next Mack when he records his first sack.

 

[firstdown]

I liked what I saw of Shepherd more than Lazard. If that's intended to be in ranking order, I see Kumerow ahead of St. Brown at this stage.

You're right about both.

The easiest way to find out where the receivers stand is where they play on the 11 on 11s in practice. Kumerow is with the 1As, and St Brown the 1Bs, while Shepard is with the 1Bs, and Lazard with the 2s.

Kumerow and Shepard are definitely making the team. Lazard to the PS. Davis will make the team too. 7 receivers. Moore, unfortunately, won't stick around . He has the worst hands I've ever seen. Very poor positioning. You can't teach hands, and you can't learn hands at this level.

 

[Dantés]

Shepherd is giving himself a shot, but he's far from a lock. Trevor Davis will probably knock him off if he's healthy. However, that's far from a given.

 

[RRyder]

I think Kumerow is the second best WR on the roster. Everytime I’ve seen him play he stood out. Runs good routes and makes the routine catch.

The 2nd best WR on the roster is probably Allison still by a pretty huge margin (the gap between Allison and the 3rd best receiver is pretty close to the gap between Adams and Allison imo) but Kumerow is looking good and probably gets the edge over MVS as the 3rd best WR so far (although MVS upside alone probably gets him a few more reps once the games start to count)

 

[RRyder]

While I realize that Gary was probably mostly playing against Texan second stringers, I wouldn't be too alarmed by what you saw last night. I say this for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he is a rookie and has a lot to learn. I could be wrong, but I doubt Khalil Mack came out and absolutely destroyed people in his first preseason game. As a matter of fact, he played in every game his rookie season and had 4 sacks. Second, Gary was pretty much surrounded by backups. Put Kenny Clark and the Smith Brothers in there and lets see what happens.

Basically, for all of those "anti Gary fanatics", it is far too soon to say "I told you so". Nor will I jump up and call him the next Mack when he records his first sack.

I absolutely HATED the Gary selection and voiced that opinion after the draft but I'm not sure what anyone can complain about with how he looked. I thought he actually looked great. Got off the ball like a bullet and showed he can get pressure early.

Are you worried the "haters" will pounce on him for not getting home?

Really he dissuaded many of my fears about drafting him

Honestly I think you might be projecting here

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I absolutely HATED the Gary selection and voiced that opinion after the draft but I'm not sure what anyone can complain about with how he looked. I thought he actually looked great. Got off the ball like a bullet and showed he can get pressure early.

Are you worried the "haters" will pounce on him for not getting home?

Really he dissuaded many of my fears about drafting him

Honestly I think you might be projecting here

LOL. Me? Projecting? Nahhhh. Just trying to be realistic and see things as they are. I will let you know what I think about Gary in a year or two or three. Way too early to form an opinion one way or another.

 

[mradtke66]

I think what frustrates me the most about the Packer backup QB situation is watching a guy like Joe Webb, a 3rd stringer, look more polished than any of our 3 backups.

This is partially snark and partially not....

• You do realize that Mr. 3rd Stringer threw 2 interceptions to the Packers QBs throwing 0?
• Webb: 62.5% completion. Kizer: 61.5%. Boyle: 60.
• Webb: 7.2 yards average. Kizer: 7.8. Boyle: 8.0
• Webb: Sacked twice. Kizer: 0. Boyle: 0
• Webb: QB Rating of 71.5. Kizer: 111.7. Boyle: 125.0.

Webb looked great scrambling. Not all that impressive actually throwing the ball.

 

[Dantés]

I think ideally you want a backup who is better than any of them.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This is partially snark and partially not....

• You do realize that Mr. 3rd Stringer threw 2 interceptions to the Packers QBs throwing 0?
• Webb: 62.5% completion. Kizer: 61.5%. Boyle: 60.
• Webb: 7.2 yards average. Kizer: 7.8. Boyle: 8.0
• Webb: Sacked twice. Kizer: 0. Boyle: 0
• Webb: QB Rating of 71.5. Kizer: 111.7. Boyle: 125.0.

Webb looked great scrambling. Not all that impressive actually throwing the ball.

Not to be snarky back but way to leave out total passing yards and rush yards.

Webb: 286 yds Passing, 6 carries 47 yds rushing

Packers QB's: 142 yds passing, 5 carries 10 yds rushing

I would also include first downs as an important stat that reflects on the job that the QB(s) is doing:

Texans: 29
Packers: 16

If you truly think that the 3 Packer QB's looked better than Webb, I won't try to change your opinion. However, IMO, at least based on what I saw last night, I would much rather have Webb backing up #12 than any of the 3 guys I saw play for the Packers.

 

[firstdown]

Shepherd is giving himself a shot, but he's far from a lock. Trevor Davis will probably knock him off if he's healthy. However, that's far from a given.

Have you watched any practices? Shepard's gone quickly from being undrafted and having to try out for the team, to running with the 1's. Shepard is very much a slot receiver, much like Cobb. We don't have any other short, quick receivers. He's our only receiver who's well suited for the slot. And he has very good hands. He's very definitely going to make the 53.

Davis and Shepard are two different types of receivers. Davis is primarily an outside receiver, while Shepard is a slot.

And did you see Davis' sideline catch at the Family Night? He made the impossible catch look routine. Sort of the anti-Moore. He's been doing that all camp. Other than tweaking his neck, he's been perfectly healthy.

We'll keep 7. They're both too good, too useful, and too cheap to get rid of.

 

[Dantés]

Have you watched any practices? Shepard's gone quickly from being undrafted and having to try out for the team, to running with the 1's. Shepard is very much a slot receiver, much like Cobb. We don't have any other short, quick receivers. He's our only receiver who's well suited for the slot. And he has very good hands. He's very definitely going to make the 53.

Davis and Shepard are two different types of receivers. Davis is primarily an outside receiver, while Shepard is a slot.

And did you see Davis' sideline catch at the Family Night? He made the impossible catch look routine. Sort of the anti-Moore. He's been doing that all camp. Other than tweaking his neck, he's been perfectly healthy.

We'll keep 7. They're both too good, too useful, and too cheap to get rid of.

Most of the receivers have spent time with the ones. That doesn't sew anything up. Shepherd may make the roster, but he is far enough down the depth chart that ST is going to have to be a factor for him. He's behind Davis in that regard at the moment. If Davis can't get healthy, or if Shepherd can outperform him on teams, that will help his cause.

They may or may not keep 7 receivers. It's going to be hard as they will likely want to keep 4 tight ends. If they keep 7, that helps Shepherd quite a bit. If they keep 6, he's going to have to fight Davis and others for the last spot, as it would seem probable that Kumerow and St. Brown are going to make it along with the "locks" in Adams, Allison, and MVS.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

We'll keep 7. They're both too good, too useful, and too cheap to get rid of.

Might be tough to keep 7 WR's. I have been thinking about this quite a bit. With MLF's system, he values TE's and RB's. I think they will keep at least 4 TE's and 4-5 RB's with Vitale being in that group. Throw in 9-10 OL and 2-3 QB's and you are pushing the 26-27 players on offense.

-TE's: Graham, Sternberger, Lewis, Tonyan.

-RB's: Jones, Williams, Williams, Vitale.

- WR's: Adams, Allison, MVS, EQ.

I think Davis, Kumerow, Lazard and Shepherd will be battling for the 5th and 6th spot, with Davis being in the lead due to his ST play. J'Mon Moore to me is now a long shot to make the team.

Injuries will probably end up making the decision for the Packers, but if everyone stays healthy and continues to perform, it might be a case of trying to determine which 1 or 2 of that group of WR's can be snuck through waivers and onto the PS.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

One thing that stood out to me was when the defense was trying to get to the QB, so many of them over pursued. It was almost like they were running too hard, if that makes sense.

In many ways I could see Kumerow becoming a kind of folk hero to the fans. He is were he is supposed to be and for the most part makes the catches look easy. Not overwhelmed in the least.

One other thing. I would be interested in seeing more of Boyle. I know that Kizer is the preemptive Back-up but Boyle seemed almost more poised than Kizer. Granted I didn't see a lot of the 2nd half, but I didn't see Boyle missing his receivers as much as Kizer and I didn't like that Kizer could have gotten Lazard hurt. Needs better eyes.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I was at the game lastnight and made a point to watch him and see if he proves me wrong about him. So far I'm not impressed. A total non-factor.

He should have gotten credit for a couple of pressures.

 

[Heyjoe4]

J'Mon Moore is all but done as a Packer. I get his frustrations, but even after he bobble catches a TD, he slams the ball in disgust and walks off the field shaking his head. Looks like he has already given up on himself.

I wonder if the Texans would trade Webb for Kizer, I would even be willing to throw in J'Mon Moore.

I’m guessing the fans were giving Moore a lot of gas for the drops he had prior to the TD. And then, as you note, he acted like an angry child when he did catch the TD. The guy is 1) full of himself, 2) uncoachable and 3) immature. Time to move on. I think he bobbled the TD catch as well, which was nothing more than a simple pitch and catch from the 1 yard line.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Adams, Allison, MVS, ESB, Kumerow, Trevor Davis, and Al Lazard (who I really like) may all be above him now. He needs to impress these next 3 preseason spots.

He needs to impress IF they give him snaps. After last night, I’d rather see Davis and Lazard get more opportunities.

 

[mradtke66]

Not to be snarky back but way to leave out total passing yards and rush yards.

Webb: 286 yds Passing, 6 carries 47 yds rushing

Packers QB's: 142 yds passing, 5 carries 10 yds rushing

I would also include first downs as an important stat that reflects on the job that the QB(s) is doing:

I guess I'm less concerned about total yards. I care more about yards per attempt and yards per completion.

Yes, Webb got 286 yards. He also thew 40 passes. Thats a pretty busy day right there.

Boyle and Kizer combined to throw 18 passes. The Texans threw more than 2x the passes the Packers thew and achieved less than 2x the number of passing yards compared to what the Packers did. I fail to see that as a victory for the Texans.

The rushing yards don't particularly concern or impress me. A lot of those were the defense blowing up the main plan with good coverage, good pass rush, or both. I'm more annoyed that our defense tended to not seal the deal when the blew up the pocket that anything else.

The lack of first downs is potentially more concerning. I don't know who should get what blame and how much should be assigned. Was it bad quarterbacking? Maybe. Did the receivers drop too many passes? Maybe. Did the MLF call a lot of run plays to emphasize a certain thing? Maybe, but ~29 runs isn't a ton.

In other words, I need to think more about the first down count. It may or may not be a problem.