Packers at Rams Game Thread

You just made an important point. A rushing attack that can put up 2,000+ yards can shave a few touchdowns off from the defense's stats by the end of the season. For my money, the 2003 Packers defense was significantly less talented than the 2012 unit, but they gave up 29 fewer points. Why? Difference in officiating partly explains it, but they rushed for 2558 yards that year and had the NFL's best RB, keeping that crappy unit rested with long drives by the offense.

Surely a Hawkeye fan would know Hyde's only real glaring problem is getting beat deep.   Saw it in his college game, read about it in camp reports and saw it last night.  He simply doesn't have the speed to keep the fastest receivers in front of him.  That said, as long as the D can avoid putting him in those situations, it looks like Hyde brings a lot of everything else to the table.  He even looked productive on the punt return.  Excellent 5th round value. 

Looks alot like Casey Hayward to me, would be a great slot defender where he has safety help.  

Only saw parts of the game last night but just caught the full act on the rerun. 

Lacy could be nasty.  Can't wait to see him and Harris mixing it up in a full game plan.

Couldn't find Perry much on the edge or in pressure.

Jolly rounding back into form.  Favorite highlight was the spin move he put on the OL when returning his INT.

I thought Starks and Green ran very well when then had some holes.  Definitely looked better than last year.

Gillett cracks me up.  He looks like Sebastian Janikowski playing wideout.  Can't remember the last time I saw a WR with a bit of a belly.

Burnett looked real good though didn't see anything else from the other two horses-a-piece.

OL did decent considering they were up against a pretty good DL.

A little more excited about Boykin.

Say hello again to Crosby.  I think that competition is over, unfortunately.

Starks needs to hold on to the effin ball, period...he got lucky that was not a fumble rec.

Coleman had a decent night, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I am optimistic. To me, VY is a more reliable option as scary as that sounds.

Lacy is a beast...but more importantly, the OL was opening nice holes, and he was finding them. Good synergy.

Bakhtiari got beat badly on one play...but overall looked solid. To me, Barclay solidified himself as RT1.

Crosby showed signs of consistency...I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm optimistic...he's going to need to show that same consistency in the next 2 games for me to feel comfortable saying he's improved...or at least back to his best form.

I thought the O was quite prolific in spite of having no Jordy or Cobb...

Way to step up J-Mike...he actually looked like a good NFL TE last night...one of the passes he caught was behind him, he brought it in and didn't break stride. Big time play.

Gotta give props to Morgan Burnett too on a 4th down play where he came up and made the tackle one on one...if that's in the regular season, that's huge.

I fully expect some perceived regression next week vs. Cheaty Petey...he, like Harbaugh, puts a lot of stock in pre-season, and I expect him to pull out all stops to win, and embarrass the Packers...even if it's just pre-season. MM will continue to be smart though...he will give his starters only the necessary reps and let Petey dumb it up and leave his starters in and exposed.

I forgot to mention Finley.  He turned the clock back to 2009 last night, should have a huge season.  He just looks better after the catch.  It seemed after his knee injury his yac was very Bubba-esque.  Now he's running through or at defenders.  I also thought Bostick looked interesting.

Not seeing the similarities between Hyde and Heyward.  Heyward's game is more about coverage and instincts, Hyde's more about physicality in press and in tackling.  I guess they both do have good ball awareness.

"Not seeing the similarities between Hyde and Heyward.  Heyward's game is more about coverage and instincts, Hyde's more about physicality in press and in tackling.  I guess they both do have good ball awareness."

Agree. I think he compares more to a pre-blown-knee Craig Newsome.

Good call.  I'd definitely take that.

I would imagine MM keeps the starters on both sides of the ball in past halftime.  That seems to be the norm for the third preseason game (barring injury, etc.).  While I'm not really concerned about the offense, they haven't lit it up in the first two contests yet.  I'd like to see a couple of scores in the first half and at least one nice drive in the second by the starters.

Right now Bostick is their #2 TE, and that ain't bad.

Its going to be fun watching Lacy learn to run/work with this OL. They're still figuring each other out. Lacy's spin move in the flat on the swing pass was a thing of beauty.

The AR Shotgun PA fake to Lacy / quick hit to Finley looked an awful lot like a MM variation of the read option, only AR's reading LB's and not DL's. That play looks unstoppable with Lacy in the backfield. And if Finley / Rodgers are on the same page as we've been led to believer and Finley is reading coverage the same way Rodgers is.... yikes.

Thoroughly enjoyed watching Jolly last night. He's still not in football shape but he hasn't lost anything off his ability to make things happen.  

Yes, I think so too! Williams looked bad on Friday.

So, we're giving McMillan a pass for the blown coverage on the Hyde pass?  Hyde was beaten, but I thought there was supposed to be safety support on the pass down the middle.  I love Hyde, but also am concerned about safety play.

Hyde will not be playing safety. He's a prototypical slot corner and a good one. If Hayward has trouble coming back from his hamstring I'd feel comfortable with Hyde filling in there. 

Not saying Hyde is a safety. Saying that Hyde didn't get safety support in the pass to Chris Givens that he should have had.

I re-watched that play about 7 times. LB'ers really bit on the fake. I can see the Niner LB'ers reacting similarly. A healthy Lacy (or running game in general) is going to be key all season long.

I agree. That was more a response to several other posts mentioning Hyde at S than a direct response to yours. I should've used the quote feature. 

We're in agreement.

IMO Green > Starks.

Here is a game  review from Pro Football Focus

https://www.profootballfocus.c...-stl-preseason-wk-2/

"All of that for a seven yard carry. It was a theme of Lacy’s most impressive runs that he was able to cope with backfield penetration, predominantly from Langford who wouldn’t allow Evan Dietrich-Smith to neutralize him on reach blocks, and turn what could easily have been losses into positive plays. With an offensive line that needs time to gel courtesy of a line flip and the loss of Bryan Bulaga due to injury it won’t be a surprise to see the Packers struggling early in the season. If Lacy can provide runs like this in spite of blocking breakdowns it will be a boon to Aaron Rodgers and the passing game."

Run blocking is supposedly his strength.  Christ, get it together Tyrone.

Lots to love about yesterday's game. Both offense and Defense seemed in control and only a few plays from total dominance. All this w/o Williams, Heyward, Jones, Cobb, or Nelson.

Jolly gives us push up the middle we don't have from anyone else, including Raji. Honestly, where would you rank him on our DL right now if not top 3?

Hyde a great athlete and will find a way to get lots of playing time. Can tackle, great instincts, looks sure in punt return. Not sure I'd want him on Calvin Johnson just yet but wouldn't mind him at safety in place of Mac or the Dr.

Frenchy or someone will replace Hawk at some point, probably after couple of losses where TE's and RB's out of the backfield kill us. Hawk may be slightly faster since he's lost weight but now he gets thrown back 15 yards instead of 10. In his entire career he hasn't made as many plays as Frenchy has in 3 or 4 games. 

Perry has strength and speed but no instincts or moves and he's very slow to react. I think he can improve because of his size and speed, but may take a season. If MM gets frustrated, Malumba, who is slower but maybe even stronger will replace him.

Need a better center now that we have a stud running game.

I have no opinion on the back up qb. All are equally a question mark. If forced to choose one for a game or two would go with Young.

Franklin hasn't shown anything but I've seen his tape and he's good. If he was an undrafted rookie he'd be an easy cut. RB order is Lacy, Harris, Starks, Green and Franklin. But Green or Starks will be the cut. Really solid though with great depth.

Cuts this year won't be as tough as past years. Team seems to be rounding into almost predictable shape except for a few back up positions. 

Seattle game, even though it's an exhibition, may be one of the most interesting pre-season games ever.

That's who I'd compare him to, also. Good technique and a physical tackler. He's not going to run down a 4.3 guy but he's not going to let him get 5 yards behind him either.

Hayward & Hyde had almost identical size, 40 time, and vertical jump at the combine. Both are "football players", who have great ball skills, & will tackle. However with 4.53 speed they are vulnerable if left 1 on 1 with a receiver outside the hash on deep plays. This is why I see them as similar and best suited to cover slot receivers, where their only weakness is more difficult for the offense to exploit. However they are more physical & willing tacklers than Shields & Williams on the edge. So do you play them at corner some & always have safety help over the top? I know that McMillan said he should have had help on the play that Hyde gave up, but there is no way he could have gotten there from where he was lined up.   

Send him to the Don Bebee school of run speed improvement in the off season.

Another thing I noticed from Saturday night was the defense's gang tackling.  More often than not, when the ball carrier was stopped, there were about 6 packers joining in on the fun.  I dare say they were swarming a bit.

I was glad to see Finley featured with the 1st offense. Hope he has a big year.

From Matt Bowen:

quote:

Eddie Lacy’s Downhill Running Style

I’m not going to sit here and crown the rookie running back from Alabama after two weeks in the preseason, but I can tell you this: His downhill style will be noticed when opponents turn on the tape.

 

That’s a plus for a Green Bay team that needs to establish some sense of a ground game this year in order to force opposing defenses to get out of the two-deep looks that limit the vertical passing game for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Those early runs that Lacy put on tape versus the Rams will make some defensive backs a little nervous to fill the hole this season against the Packers. 

Disagree. Lacy was gaining yardage despite the OL opening holes for him.

I realize its early but Franklin has had a weak showing so far and McGinn wasnt very

complimentary here :

Franklin Aint Doing Squat 

Lacy has really looked amazing the more I rewatch the STL game. I just hope his running style doesnt wear him down too soon

Yes, injuries is the only thing that could hold the guy back and he has some history with them.

I did notice his later runs weren't as deep as the earlier ones.  Don't know if that was STL D adjusting or our OL going 2nd string.  He'll have a tougher task vs the cheathawks.