There is more to talk about than Nelson's injury, but not a lot. I will say this...right around the time the Rappaport ACL report appeared in the crawl, the air seemed to go out of the offense.
There were only a few starting/roster spots where I believe we got some clarity. I'll admit to having stopped watching with about 7 minutes left; the garbage time play had regressed into the "miserable" category.
QB: Rodgers was, of course, sharp as a tack. The back-up O-Line play was so poor I don't even want to comment on the poor backup QB play. 5 total first downs after the first drive. Ouch.
RB: Harris had that getting-2-yards-out-of-nothing working again on the 2 pt. conversion. He also dropped two passes. Neal and Crockett...uninspired. It's still a horse race for the #3 spot.
OL: I had Barklay for 1.5 - 2.o sacks surrendered, depending on how you want to count. He was called for a holding penalty. He gave up a bad hit on Tolzien on the play where the ball flew into the ether and the QB's helmet came off. He is not inspiring confidence...2 preseason games for him to clean it up.
The backup OL play was not good as already noted. Josh Walker got some work at both LT and RT. I can't say I noted him ******** up against the Steeler backups but I can't say I was watching him all that closely.
TE: Rodgers has very good hands; Quarless made a nice play on the seam route; the worked in tandem as H-backs in the "inverted bone", or whatever they call it this season, with little to show for it. As an aside, what the heck happened on one of those plays where Tolzien turned to hand off to Neal and he wasn't there. Didn't anybody tell Neal that when he's got two blockers in front of him in the backfield he's getting the ball? Sheesh.
WR: Nelson comments are abundant in the Nelson thread. The #4 next-man-up is essentially a starter in this offense with heavy 3-wide sets.
Janis caught three balls...one was actually a little away from his body but not really a reach catch. He dropped one on the numbers on an inside route. He couldn't scrape the left foot to stay in bounds on the overruled sideline catch. I would have never thought catch radius issues would show up on a punt return, but there you have it. One of his sideline catches was on a route cut off short of the first down. I believe it was Janis who was too close to the line of scrimmage resulting in the "TE covered up" penalty. Rodgers does not even look at him. Every sideline shot of McCarthy has Janis standing next to him. Whatupwitdat?
White continues to look pretty decent on short routes. White to slot and Cobb moving outside is a distinct possibility.
Pickard looked good on that one target/catch on the sidelines. He looked like he knew what he was doing and showed good hands extending for the ball. We'd like to see more of this guy.
DL: The starting base line had Pennel at strong-side DE and I think that's the way we're starting the season, with Pennel continuing to surprise and impress. Gaston looked decent again, if not quite as impactful as in week 1. Jones got a nice sack, but it was on stunt where he went unblocked by second teamers. Guion looked rusty.
OLB: Mike Neal is a smart football player. Note how he started to peel out with the back into the flat, then when Ben R. looked off the back Neal turned inside and nearly logged a sack. Again, Neal is that 1/2 - 1 step slow that would otherwise make him an outstanding OLB. Elliott, "Mr. August" as the Pittsburgh announcers dubbed him, was again active and around the ball. Mulumba was out there for some snaps; can't say I noticed him doing much.
ILB: Nate Palmer got the start again. He seems to be the kind of guy who's assignment-sure and gets in position to make plays...then doesn't. He whiffed on a clean shot at the QB; runners run by him. I earlier characterized him as Brad-Jones-redux. A Hawk-circa-2014 comparison might be apt. In any event he holds a job waiting to be taken.
Ryan didn't seem to get many snaps; I didn't see him doing anything of note other than challenging the line on an inside run blitz on a run that went outside for some decent yardage. Did he mis-read the play or was that the call? Who knows.
Hubbard looked good again on an inside blitz. I'm still not seeing much to recommend him beyond the pass rushing ability, which clearly is not enough to get off the bench. Might make the team, though.
Bradford looked pretty active and was around the ball against the third stringers. He still looks like he's thinking through it all. Squarely on the bubble.
CB: This competition is getting interesting. Randall got the start outside with Hayward in the slot. Randall was promptly schooled by Brown on two inside routes. He was pulled shortly thereafter with Hayward going outside. Randall returned and made the pick on that under thrown ball. Yeah, he's got ball skills but that's not what's been in question.
Rollins looked a little out of sync and the Coates burn was not pretty.
Hayward looked pretty solid; had a shot at a couple of picks; generally pretty tight coverage...outside corner is his job to lose.
Gunter continues to impress with unconventional techniques and knacks. He rides receivers inside, cutting off the inside route while keeping them enough off balance so they can't run away from him while keeping his hands to himself to avoid the call. This is typically the stuff we see from Seattle CBs, and they even get away with being handsy. At the same time he doesn't get his head around once the ball is in the air, but somehow anticipates the ball and gets his hands on it. I don't know if he's learned to read the receiver's eyes or hands or what, but he breaks up balls in a position where he can't see them coming. I don't know if Whitt is scratching his head or reaching for the Malox, but until proven otherwise I'm not confident this technique will hold up against receivers who can elevate.
As it stands, Gunter's box score reads 5 targets, 0 completions, 3 passes defended. It's hard to argue with that.
S: Status quo, except that Richardson got some snaps as his box safety self. I usually don't make a big deal about calls, but it did look like he made that interception. The review was so quick I think the refs just wanted to get it over with.
Special Teams: Masthay was pretty sketchy today. Ripkowski keeps making coverage tackles. I guess Hyde doesn't need game work returning punts because I'll be quite surprised if he isn't the #1 in week 1.
. but yea, elliot was looking great too. then the last two 1st rounders, haha and randall! very very good! lacy is a future hall of famer. so impressed with his power. starks too. he looks twice as good since being #2. now he looks like i had hoped he could. great! raji looked good. richard rodgers looks to be in mid season form... then barclay goes and lays a rotten egg... i didnt see anything after nelsons acl was announced...just some cussing and some scared looks from the folks next to me. 
