1st preseason report card

[sharpefan]

All in all I feel the Packers rated a C there was some good but there is room for improvement in a lot of areas.

[miracle]

The only thing I tried to watch with a critical eye was Aaron Kampman. He wasn't in too long, but I did tend to notice that he does lack the coverage skills -- just as many have reported. It appeared as though he was out there working his tail off, but he looked to be the walk-on freshman covering the team's highly scouted point guard. Kampman got his hips turned easily and was out of position in his zone coverage assignments. Granted, there were only a handful of reps, but I clearly saw this at least three times -- twice against the RB. He didn't do poorly, but he certainly didn't look fluid and comfortable.

The receivers appeared as good as advertised. Rodgers looked fine, but didn't seem to have his rhythm yet. Grant and Jackson had some positive points as well. The defense gave up some dink and dunks, but nothing big.

It provided some reason for genuine optimism, but it ain't 1996 again.

[WhatUSaid]

B-.

[Talaren]

I thought the defense did amazing consider FIVE starters were sat. That's amazing. Our offense started fast, if Rodgers gets into a groove our offense will be sick, as it looked like the OLine play wasn't too bad. Running game looked promising for once too.

[conmanpart2]

I don't think Kampman will be the starting LB come the opening game..... Trade perhaps but probably a 3 down pass rush specialist..... His career in Green Bay seems short

[amoeba15]

I wonder who is weaker in pass coverage, Kampman or Poppinga?

[TW]

My grades:

Defense gets a B+

They looked good, but they did have a few glitches in coverage. Kampman is struggling to play pass defense. I think they'll pull him in passing downs.

Surprisingly enough, Chillar looked like one of our best LBs. He completely outplayed Hawk. If you didn't like the way Desmond Bishop played at LB, you weren't watching the game.

Neither 1st round picks dressed for the game. Based on what I saw, I don't think they're going to be able to walk in and get playing time without working for it.

Jolly was hitting on all cylinders. He did a solid job, and I think generally speaking, the team was tight against the run, in fact dominating.

The jury is out on Harris Bush at this point, but it was obvious the Browns did not want to throw the ball anywhere close to Woodson Williams. Who would, in this formation? I wouldn't. Harris Bush looks leaner though, so it might be a case of first time jitters with a new system.

Poppinga just plain hasn't got the speed to play outside on that defense. He might stay, only because they've invested in him, and can't get out of it. Lansanah is gone from what I've seen.

Offense C+

Too many dumb penalties. There is absolutely no excuse for false start penalties before your team even gets set at the line of scrimmage. Johnson got one called on him at FB last night. But he wasn't the only one who got flagged. They need to think out there, not do dumb things.

Musical positions again on the offensive line. Let's hope they get things settled in. It's scary, thinking Rodgers could be running for his life out there.

But that throw of Rodgers, to Driver... a thing of beauty. A WR who didn't give up on the play, and a QB who showed he could throw the ball 40 yards while moving, and still have zip on it. It's the kind of thing that shows us that Rodgers does have the tools to be a good one for a long time.

Also, Rodgers was getting rid of the ball in a more timely manner. I liked that. It showed he wasn't going to eat it every time the coverage bothered his receivers. He's showing poise.

Sutton - The kid runs low, and gets under tacklers. He left them grabbing high on a couple of runs, while he scooted under their arms to get key yardage.

I think he makes the team if he has another good outing like he did against Cleveland. Wynn will probably be the odd man out if it happens. I think they hang on to Jackson, Grant, & either Wynn or Sutton.

I'll let you know when I think Johnson is a good FB. At this point, I haven't seen enough to judge him either way. Give him a bit of time on the field.

Coaching A+

McCarthy finally came to the reality that you don't play good in games if you don't learn to take hits in practice. Walk throughs do not create the same intensity, or offer the same level of opposition to movement that impact hits do.

Capers is a solid coordinator. The Packers transitioned into the 3-4 without major problems. I did not see any major breakdowns in coverage during the entire game. Mistakes, yes, but major mistakes, no.

Green can coach outside linebackers, and I'm going to say that the guy who may be the best we have outside is Bishop. This guy might steal a starting spot from the rest of the group. If he's good enough, it's possible Kampman will lose time to him. Just a guess on that one, but it looks possible.

Anyhow... more to come after game two.

Edit: Meant to say Williams & Bush. I was watching sideline interviews with Woodson & Harris, while typing.

[packerconvert]

Incomplete

[Talaren]

I swear Al Harris and Charles Woodson did not suit up at all TW, I dont' remember seeing them at all. It was Tramon, Blackmon, Jarrett Bush

[packfanforever]

Flynn really looked a lot more comfortable in the offense, kept some plays going. The # 2 offensive line sucked (what, 5 pre-snappers in two series?).

Hard to tell about the defense..definitely an incomplete. A good 3-4 just looks fast, and attacks. Not there yet.

Was MM high? Why have Crosby try those two long FG's? The punters suck so badly and game reps are hard to come by.

[miracle]

Aug 16, 2009 20:08:25 GMT -5 packfanforever said:

Was MM high? Why have Crosby try those two long FG's? The punters suck so badly and game reps are hard to come by.

McCarthy said Crosby was hitting from 62 consistently in the pre-game. Why not see what he has for accuracy from that distance under the real pressures of a game? I don't recommend it in the 1st quarter of the Bears game, but that's what pre-season is for. Crosby's real miss was to the right again. I had recently read that he corrected his form and was right on the money as of late. I wonder what caused the big push then...?

[WhatUSaid]

Aug 16, 2009 16:22:33 GMT -5 @amoeba15 said:

I wonder who is weaker in pass coverage, Kampman or Poppinga?

Poppinga, which is sad.
I can't believe I forgot about Poppinga. Rookies have better on field awareness then this cat, cut him. I want Bishop on the field not Poppinga.

[GullrockGeorge]

B- seems about right.

Pluses were Rodgers, Finley, and the improved run blocking on offense. On defense, I'd have to say that Pickett looked OK and Kampy was fine when he wasn't in coverage. Jolly and Bishop both had nice games.

Other observations. Barbre looked OK, but got just plain beat on a couple of occasions. He can't wiff that often. At first I didn't think he was too bad, but after watching replay and focusing on the o-line, I'd say he has a ways to go.

I thought the o-line got more movement up front when the middle was Colledge-Spitz-Sitton as oppposed to Colledge-Wells-Spitz. I think the Spitz/Sitton duo on the right is just more stout and gets more movement than when Wells is in there.

Moll is not a left tackle. I think it's time to just say goodbye and good-luck to Moll.

Meredith didn't look too bad at times, but there were a few occasions when bigger guys just man-handled him. He's a little lite and not strong enough. These are things that can be fixed hopefully with a couple more off-seasons in the weight room.

I see no reason to keep 3 TEs this year. There is nothing there after Finley and Lee. Just keep 2 TEs and 4 RBs instead. Keep Lumpkin and put Sutton on the practice squad.

The CBs looked pretty good considering we didn't even play Harris and Woodson. They seem to have adjusted pretty well to playing a lot more zone. The key will be whether Harris, who isn't known for strong play in the zone, will look good in this defense. If he's solid, the secondary will be a strong group.

I was suprised Poppinga didn't look more natural playing OLB. At this point he seems like a back-up at best. I also didn't see much from Hawk, but he looked pretty natural inside banging on guys. I'd like to have seen Hawk play a little more. Bishop is making enough plays that he's going to have to be considered for additional playing time.

[amoeba15]

230 yards rushing & a 4.9 yard average - WOW.

Rodgers, Packers look sharp in shutout of Browns

New Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini says his quarterback competition is far from over. Both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are eager to put their first chance behind them.

Aaron Rodgers directed two long touchdown drives before departing, and the Green Bay Packers' new 3-4 defense gave Quinn and Anderson fits in a 17-0 victory over the Browns in their preseason opener Saturday night.

"What I wanted to see was smart football, I want to see toughness and I want to see us be able to outhustle our opponent," Mangini said. "I don't really think we achieved any of those objectives."

Quinn was better than Anderson, though both threw interceptions as Cleveland looked far away from improving on last season's 4-12 record, committing four turnovers and seven penalties.

"We just killed ourselves defensively and offensively," Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "We know where we are at this point, and we can only get better."

Rodgers went 5-of-10 passing for 102 yards and completed a 53-yard touchdown throw to Donald Driver by stepping up in the pocket on the opening drive. Driver initially looked over his left shoulder on the long third-down pass, then swiveled right to catch the ball in stride past Browns safety Abram Elam, who was late rotating over on the play.

"The line did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage the entire game," Rodgers said. "I had all day to throw. To be able to have three-plus seconds to throw the ball, you're going to be successful."

Rodgers followed it with an 11-play drive that included a fourth-and-5 conversion on a defensive holding penalty and was capped by Ryan Grant's 2-yard touchdown run.

"Two drives, two touchdowns -- that's what you're looking for," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

While Cleveland's quarterbacks are battling for the starter's role, neither did much against the Green Bay scheme installed by new defensive coordinator Dom Capers -- even with top cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris out of the game.

Mangini didn't tip his hand that Quinn would start until about an hour before kickoff, though the quarterback knew Friday night. But that mattered little to the Packers, who are coming off a 6-10 season. They blitzed often, holding Quinn to 7-of-11 passing for 68 yards.

"I thought Brady did a nice job with the two drives he had," Mangini said. "But with any drive, the ultimate objective is to score points."

Anderson didn't complete either pass that he attempted over his two short series.

"Obviously, (there's) a little bit of frustration," Anderson said. "We didn't play well as a team; the things we were trying to do, the way we've been playing in practice didn't carry over to the game. We've got a lot of work to do."

While the Packers made a few defensive mistakes, the pressure more than made up for it.

Aaron Kampman, who's converting to linebacker from end and forced to play more pass coverage, watched Quinn zip a pass to wide receiver Mike Furrey between him and linebacker Brady Poppinga on Cleveland's opening drive. But Kampman slammed Quinn to the ground moments later when no one picked up his rush from the right side.

"It's going to be a work in progress, but the more reps we get, the better we'll be at (it)," Kampman said. "It was a good starting point."

Kampman got his hands on Anderson, too, breaking through and grabbing enough of the quarterback's throwing arm on his first attempt to disrupt the play. Anderson's second pass on his next drive was lobbed up for grabs after he received more pressure by Desmond Bishop, and Tramon Williams intercepted it.

"We want to come out and get turnovers," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "We talk about it all of the time. When you win the turnover margin, you usually win the game."

Quinn completed four straight passes in the two-minute offense just before the half to move the Browns to the Packers' 6 before Braylon Edwards dropped a would-be touchdown pass. On the next play, Quinn threw behind Edwards, and Green Bay safety Anthony Smith picked off the pass.

"That was a poor decision on my part," Quinn said. "Especially in that situation, you want to come away with at least some points. If it's not a touchdown, a field goal. I put that on myself, and I apologize to my teammates."

Notes: Browns QB Brett Ratliff threw two more interceptions. ... The Packers' two first-round draft picks, LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) and DT B.J. Raji (signed Friday), didn't play. ... Browns DT Shaun Rogers wasn't in uniform.

www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=54734&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2009&week=PRE1

[brewerbruce]

I would give them a solid "B". would have been a little higher had the starters had a chance to play more. I liked Rodgers, Sutton, and Finley. Bishop for the defense (The other LB's did nothing IMO). Jolly looked like he had a decent game. looking forward to the Buffalo game to see the starters a little more