Preface this post with the following fact:
The Packers beat up on a team, AT HOME, in a preseason game. They Beat up on a team that had it's problems last year offensively and were missing both starting Pro-Bowl caliber tackles, their Pro Bowl quarterback and the 2005 League MVP (yeah I know he played:3 carries, 3 yards).
However, I must give credit where credit is due- Ted Thompson has built a top-notch defense.
Kampman, Jenkins & KGB provide a very tough rotation at defensive end. The DT rotation (while still not set) provides stability and run-stopping power, if lacking a bit of pass rush, although Harrell (who gets stopped at the LOS too often on pass rush) has a knack of batting down passes.
The LB's are set and have a 'tude with great lateral movement and tackling ability. I hope Hodge's knee problems are not career threatening.
The corners, while long in the tooth, are as good as it gets. Leadership along with great mano-y-mano coverage skills give Sanders flexability in play calling.
However, the lack of quality safety play will limit just how good this team will play. They still give up big plays down the middle. Seattle's second offensive series is probably a painful indicator of what's to come this season unless the team finds a DECENT playmaker at safety. I'm not looking for LeRoy Butler type of play, but someone who understand what the term/position/definition of safety REALLY is! How did INDY look without Bob Sanders last year? Imagine Pittsburgh w/o Troy Polamalu. The Bears defense was no where near as dominating the last ten games of the 2006 season without Mike Brown.
Ya want a very good defense? Ya got it. Ya want a DOMINATING fearsome defense? Find a great safety. The Packers are still searching. Bigby played well last night at the line of scrimmage, and I REALLY like the way he tackles and sacrifices his body, but the jury is still out on how well he can play "in space." If Bigby is able to oust Manuel and play well in cover two, then, maybe then, this is a defense that will be truly feared by other teams. Especially with their focus on stripping the ball away -impressive.
Offensively . . .They are what they are: Very young and prone to mistake:
Still getting bad snaps from the starting center (two in two preseason games) so that hasn't been fixed from last year, and still some blown assignments in the run game. But it appears solid overall.
The RB situation scares me to death, and it reminds me of two years ago with the WR position . . .We are one injury away from signing street free agents like Taco Wallace again.
We may have the best quarterback situation in the league. Paul Thompson will be a starter in this league someday. He's still very raw, but he reminds me of Aaron Brooks, with one big exception: Thompson's got a brain in his head, which means he will be able to read defenses and make proper reads in a few years.
The BIGGEST problem on this side of the ball is wide reciever. The starters can't get seperation from defenders, which causes Brett to constantly force balls in. With Driver, it usually works out ok, 'cause he's got great hands and a desire to go into traffic, make the catch and take a big hit. Jennings needs space to be effective, and he can't seem to be able to get seperation from defenders - thus he's been a non-factor. Jones appears to have a grasp of the offense already and has great hands. The catch along the sidelines was a thing of beauty and I'm guessing the officials musta thought "There's no way he could have caught that AND got BOTH feet in!" But the 2nd TD catch (from Rodgers) was even more impressive; sliding to the ground and catching a pass with zip off the turf landing in bounds near the endline. He could be a very good player the first half of the season. I hope he doesn't get that rookie "burnout" in November.
All in all, this is a team that could contend for the NFC North championship IF:
1) They have compentant RB play throughout the season without major lost time to injury
2) They find a decent, if not playmaking safety, to prevent the big play this defense has given up time and time again.
3) One of the receivers figures out how to actually get "open" so Favre doesn't have to constantly force into coverage ('cause we all know he aint changing into the game manager at QB that other average qb's around the league have become).
4) The offesive line continues to mature quickly. By Week 8 they should be at their best.
Ok then - Ted Thompson & Mike McCarthy appear to have this team on track to be a playoff contender. I'm still not 100% happy with Thompson's inactivity in free agency and his inability to get Favre a top-notch wide receiver, but maybe, just maybe, with this defense Farve will pplaying on a lot of short fields this year (and NEXT!) ;-)
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