TOP HAT'S REVIEW: A Tale of Two Halves
SUMMARY: In the first half, the Pack had strong performances from the offense, defense, and special teams to lead 10-0. In the second half, with the Packers reserves playing poorly, the Jaguars reserves rallied to win the game 21-3. Overall, the Pack had positive indicators, especially the dominating 1st team defense, QBs Favre & Rodgers, and most rookies, in the loss with their preseason record going to 2-1. Rookie RB Jackson struggled running the ball, but he scored on a 1 yard TD run and caught 4 catches for 28 yards. Rookie WR Jones shined with six passes for 80 yards. TE Franks had two big catches.
THUMBS UP:
1. Defense: In the first half, the first and second teams’ defenses held the Jaguars to a shutout including two stops on fourth down conversions. The Jaguars were 0-4 on third down conversions and held to six first downs. LB Barnett led the dominating & pressuring defense. During the Jaguars’ second drive, Barnett dropped WR Williams for a one yard gain, stuffed RB Jones-Drew on a 3rd and 1, and ended the drive by wrapping up RB Jones-Drew for no gain on 4th and 1. S Bigby played well enough to please the coaches & to continue starting. S Collins added, "He’s pretty good. He’s been here about two years. He knows the whole scheme of what we’re trying to do. He gets the calls out and he makes the right checks so he’s doing a very good job back there.” CB Bush solidified his nickel cornerback role. "I'm definitely pleased," said John Schneider, personnel analyst to GM Thompson. "It was a great preseason test….[O]ur defense should be able to keep us in games. Offensively, we'll come along…."
2. QBs: Starting the game, QB Favre completed 14 for 130 yards for an 87.5 passer rating. He completed seven consecutive passes in a 76 yards scoring field goal drive. Then, backup QB Rodgers completed five of seven passes in a 73 yard scoring TD drive. For the game, Rodgers finished with a passer rating of 95.6 points, although he was sacked three times. "We were productive in the sense of moving the ball, but we didn't get a lot of points," said Favre...."That's how you judge, with points & wins & losses. We were off with some route-running. We still have a long way to go....."
3. Rookies: After a slow start, Packers rookies WR Jones and RB Jackson got better in the game. Jones caught three straight passes for first downs in the first scoring drive. The drive ended with two big plays by Jackson: an 11-yard catch to set up first-and-goal and, on the next play, a 1-yard touchdown run. Rookie LB Bishop had a decent game with 5 tackles including a big hit that knocked the helmet off Jaguars WR Williams. Rookie safety Rouse looked solid including a big hit on Jaguars TE Wiggins. Rookie K Crosby continued to impress on kickoffs & hit a 38 yard field goal. Rookie RB White rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries
4. Special teams. The special teams looked good on solid kickoffs with strong coverage except in the late stages of the game.
THUMBS DOWN:
1. Running game: In an unbalanced offensive attack, the rushing game finished with 84 yards in 25 carries for an average 3.4 per carry. In the first half, with no holes, RB Jackson appeared tentative getting 8 yards on 10 carries. In second half, the coaches made inside zone adjustments opening up holes improving the rushing game. When asked about the running game, offensive coordinator Philbin said, “Not much and not well….They were moving their line at times and slanting and angling….[W]e didn't adapt well to that" [till late in the game].
2. Sloppy & weak offensive execution: In the first half, several receivers did not adjust to coverage making errors on running routes. The 1st team offensive line struggled executing the running game. Here is a horrifying assessment of the 1st team offensive line play:
"On the first play of the game, for instance, dependable left tackle Clifton badly missed his block....On other occasions, the Packers’ blockers whiffed in their attempts to block linebackers....Too frequently, the Packers missed their backside blocks, so when Jackson cut back to daylight, he was swallowed up....Other times, the line was simply overpowered."
In three runs, G Spitz "missed two blocks against DT Stroud and another against LB Peterson." In the second half, the 2nd team offensive line had a real rough game looking like a sieve on pass protection. In the game, the Pack had two forced fumbles, committed four penalties, and gave up five sacks.
3. Shoddy defensive execution & pedestrian defensive backups: In the first half, the 1st team defense looked solid with pressure & big plays. Yet, they lacked an overwhelming pass rush & had a sometimes leaky rush defense. In the second half, the backups played shoddy with pedestrian execution and tackling having few standouts. Rookie DT Harrell continued to struggle against backups. "He played slow and looked sluggish," one scout said. "Poor reactions. He stalled out on the line of scrimmage rushing the passer. He got knocked back too far one time on the goal line." LB Bishop must improve shedding blockers & LB White must improve to make impact plays.
CONCERNS:
1. Injuries: The Pack had injury scares when WR Driver left with a foot sprain injury and G Spitz left the game with a reocurring injury. WR Driver is expected back for the home opener against the Eagles.
SUMMARY: In the first half, the Pack had strong performances from the offense, defense, and special teams to lead 10-0. In the second half, with the Packers reserves playing poorly, the Jaguars reserves rallied to win the game 21-3. Overall, the Pack had positive indicators, especially the dominating 1st team defense, QBs Favre & Rodgers, and most rookies, in the loss with their preseason record going to 2-1. Rookie RB Jackson struggled running the ball, but he scored on a 1 yard TD run and caught 4 catches for 28 yards. Rookie WR Jones shined with six passes for 80 yards. TE Franks had two big catches.
THUMBS UP:
1. Defense: In the first half, the first and second teams’ defenses held the Jaguars to a shutout including two stops on fourth down conversions. The Jaguars were 0-4 on third down conversions and held to six first downs. LB Barnett led the dominating & pressuring defense. During the Jaguars’ second drive, Barnett dropped WR Williams for a one yard gain, stuffed RB Jones-Drew on a 3rd and 1, and ended the drive by wrapping up RB Jones-Drew for no gain on 4th and 1. S Bigby played well enough to please the coaches & to continue starting. S Collins added, "He’s pretty good. He’s been here about two years. He knows the whole scheme of what we’re trying to do. He gets the calls out and he makes the right checks so he’s doing a very good job back there.” CB Bush solidified his nickel cornerback role. "I'm definitely pleased," said John Schneider, personnel analyst to GM Thompson. "It was a great preseason test….[O]ur defense should be able to keep us in games. Offensively, we'll come along…."
2. QBs: Starting the game, QB Favre completed 14 for 130 yards for an 87.5 passer rating. He completed seven consecutive passes in a 76 yards scoring field goal drive. Then, backup QB Rodgers completed five of seven passes in a 73 yard scoring TD drive. For the game, Rodgers finished with a passer rating of 95.6 points, although he was sacked three times. "We were productive in the sense of moving the ball, but we didn't get a lot of points," said Favre...."That's how you judge, with points & wins & losses. We were off with some route-running. We still have a long way to go....."
3. Rookies: After a slow start, Packers rookies WR Jones and RB Jackson got better in the game. Jones caught three straight passes for first downs in the first scoring drive. The drive ended with two big plays by Jackson: an 11-yard catch to set up first-and-goal and, on the next play, a 1-yard touchdown run. Rookie LB Bishop had a decent game with 5 tackles including a big hit that knocked the helmet off Jaguars WR Williams. Rookie safety Rouse looked solid including a big hit on Jaguars TE Wiggins. Rookie K Crosby continued to impress on kickoffs & hit a 38 yard field goal. Rookie RB White rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries
4. Special teams. The special teams looked good on solid kickoffs with strong coverage except in the late stages of the game.
THUMBS DOWN:
1. Running game: In an unbalanced offensive attack, the rushing game finished with 84 yards in 25 carries for an average 3.4 per carry. In the first half, with no holes, RB Jackson appeared tentative getting 8 yards on 10 carries. In second half, the coaches made inside zone adjustments opening up holes improving the rushing game. When asked about the running game, offensive coordinator Philbin said, “Not much and not well….They were moving their line at times and slanting and angling….[W]e didn't adapt well to that" [till late in the game].
2. Sloppy & weak offensive execution: In the first half, several receivers did not adjust to coverage making errors on running routes. The 1st team offensive line struggled executing the running game. Here is a horrifying assessment of the 1st team offensive line play:
"On the first play of the game, for instance, dependable left tackle Clifton badly missed his block....On other occasions, the Packers’ blockers whiffed in their attempts to block linebackers....Too frequently, the Packers missed their backside blocks, so when Jackson cut back to daylight, he was swallowed up....Other times, the line was simply overpowered."
In three runs, G Spitz "missed two blocks against DT Stroud and another against LB Peterson." In the second half, the 2nd team offensive line had a real rough game looking like a sieve on pass protection. In the game, the Pack had two forced fumbles, committed four penalties, and gave up five sacks.
3. Shoddy defensive execution & pedestrian defensive backups: In the first half, the 1st team defense looked solid with pressure & big plays. Yet, they lacked an overwhelming pass rush & had a sometimes leaky rush defense. In the second half, the backups played shoddy with pedestrian execution and tackling having few standouts. Rookie DT Harrell continued to struggle against backups. "He played slow and looked sluggish," one scout said. "Poor reactions. He stalled out on the line of scrimmage rushing the passer. He got knocked back too far one time on the goal line." LB Bishop must improve shedding blockers & LB White must improve to make impact plays.
CONCERNS:
1. Injuries: The Pack had injury scares when WR Driver left with a foot sprain injury and G Spitz left the game with a reocurring injury. WR Driver is expected back for the home opener against the Eagles.
