Greg C.
Cheesehead
Well, last night's game was a rude awakening for Packer fans. The first-team offense and defense could not have played worse in the first quarter, and they weren't much better in the second. This looked like the same team that went 4-12 last season. Hopefully things will get better as the preseason continues. Here are some thoughts:
The first-team interior O-line was a disaster, especially on pass plays. I don't know who exactly was to blame in there, because I didn't videotape it and the broadcasters were being stingy with the replays. But the pressure on pass plays was all coming through the middle, just like last season.
Davenport, Gado, and Herron did very little, not that they had much opportunity with the poor blocking. Davenport runs just as high as he always has, and he still looks like an injury waiting to happen. And at least to me, he still looks like a change-of-pace back, rather than a starter.
Greg Jennings had two crucial drops on that drive late in the second quarter. But he made a couple good plays later, and I think he'll be fine. Rookies are going to have some drops, especially in the preseason. The encouraging thing is that he got open consistently.
Fergie made a very nice catch on a long, high pass from Favre. I think he will be our #2 receiver.
Rod Gardner made a couple of nice catches, and he should be either the #3 or #4 receiver, along with Jennings.
Aaron Rodgers looked even better in this game than he did in the scrimmage. There is no longer a big drop-off in quality between Favre and Rodgers, like there was last year, although Favre is still better. Bummer about the interception, but Boerigter, a tall receiver, was one-on-one with a DB, and he is supposed to catch that high pass or at least knock it away.
Brian Wrobel was the third QB to come in, so he must've passed up Ingle Martin on the depth chart.
Ahmad Carroll sucked. Whatever progress he made late last season was not in evidence last night. He's short and he has poor ball skills. The coaching staff has always maintained that his speed will make up for getting beaten in coverage, but it doesn't, unless the ball is underthrown. This is the NFL. No cornerback can afford to get beaten in coverage.
Woodson and Harris didn't look very good either. But Harris has always sucked in the preseason, and Woodson seems like the same kind of player. There is reason to think that they will step it up when the games count. I'm more worried about Woodson, because he's been injured a lot and needs to prove himself again.
Rookie safety Tyrone Culver always seems to be around the ball, but he is usually a step too late to make the play. With more experience, maybe he can gain that extra step and be a good player for us.
A.J. Hawk got torched by Antonio Gates on the first drive, but he made a few nice plays after that. I was encouraged by his performance.
Abdul Hodge, on the other hand, did not look like anything special. Neither did Ben Taylor, Roy Manning, or that guy named White. Except for Hawk, the outside linebackers did a poor job.
Ryan outpunted Sander again, easily. He hit a 55-yarder and a 51-yarder, both of which had 10-yard penalties tacked onto the end of them.
Rich Gannon made his debut as a color commentator. He talked and talked and talked without saying much of anything original. At times I thought I was still listening to Bill Maas. He used his "chalkboard" like a child with a color crayon. He said lots of nonsense like, "Consistency (or some such thing) is important, especially in the preseason." Really, Rich? More important than in the regular season? You might want to think about that.
Anyway, it was a shaky start for the McCarthy era. The Packers were completely outclassed on both sides of the ball. Let's hope for better next week.
The first-team interior O-line was a disaster, especially on pass plays. I don't know who exactly was to blame in there, because I didn't videotape it and the broadcasters were being stingy with the replays. But the pressure on pass plays was all coming through the middle, just like last season.
Davenport, Gado, and Herron did very little, not that they had much opportunity with the poor blocking. Davenport runs just as high as he always has, and he still looks like an injury waiting to happen. And at least to me, he still looks like a change-of-pace back, rather than a starter.
Greg Jennings had two crucial drops on that drive late in the second quarter. But he made a couple good plays later, and I think he'll be fine. Rookies are going to have some drops, especially in the preseason. The encouraging thing is that he got open consistently.
Fergie made a very nice catch on a long, high pass from Favre. I think he will be our #2 receiver.
Rod Gardner made a couple of nice catches, and he should be either the #3 or #4 receiver, along with Jennings.
Aaron Rodgers looked even better in this game than he did in the scrimmage. There is no longer a big drop-off in quality between Favre and Rodgers, like there was last year, although Favre is still better. Bummer about the interception, but Boerigter, a tall receiver, was one-on-one with a DB, and he is supposed to catch that high pass or at least knock it away.
Brian Wrobel was the third QB to come in, so he must've passed up Ingle Martin on the depth chart.
Ahmad Carroll sucked. Whatever progress he made late last season was not in evidence last night. He's short and he has poor ball skills. The coaching staff has always maintained that his speed will make up for getting beaten in coverage, but it doesn't, unless the ball is underthrown. This is the NFL. No cornerback can afford to get beaten in coverage.
Woodson and Harris didn't look very good either. But Harris has always sucked in the preseason, and Woodson seems like the same kind of player. There is reason to think that they will step it up when the games count. I'm more worried about Woodson, because he's been injured a lot and needs to prove himself again.
Rookie safety Tyrone Culver always seems to be around the ball, but he is usually a step too late to make the play. With more experience, maybe he can gain that extra step and be a good player for us.
A.J. Hawk got torched by Antonio Gates on the first drive, but he made a few nice plays after that. I was encouraged by his performance.
Abdul Hodge, on the other hand, did not look like anything special. Neither did Ben Taylor, Roy Manning, or that guy named White. Except for Hawk, the outside linebackers did a poor job.
Ryan outpunted Sander again, easily. He hit a 55-yarder and a 51-yarder, both of which had 10-yard penalties tacked onto the end of them.
Rich Gannon made his debut as a color commentator. He talked and talked and talked without saying much of anything original. At times I thought I was still listening to Bill Maas. He used his "chalkboard" like a child with a color crayon. He said lots of nonsense like, "Consistency (or some such thing) is important, especially in the preseason." Really, Rich? More important than in the regular season? You might want to think about that.
Anyway, it was a shaky start for the McCarthy era. The Packers were completely outclassed on both sides of the ball. Let's hope for better next week.
