Positives/Negatives - Pack vs. Benson's old team

OL was shaky? The same OL that was allowing Ced to gash them in the first half? Newhouse had some issues, but he's rusty. He will get that ironed out.

Harrell is dung.

DJ Smith was wholly unimpressive.

+'s

Nick Perry. Looking better and better at pressuring the QB, getting strong push up the line, and his one strong Mo'Fo. He also likely put a sour puss on McGinn's face tonight as well.

Packer's DL. Goal line stance was very impressive. Dalton is a Pro Bowl QB and he looked uncomfortable the whole night. Packers with consistent pressure, even with 3 DL at times.

-'s

2nd OL looks much like 2005 again. Not a whole lot to hang your hat on. And at this point, probably very little GB can do about it.

James Starks. No he didn't play tonight. Yes, he has reason to be rather worried.

If thats the Benson we're getting this season, we're in business..

- -

2nd OL. TT will be watching the transactions wire closely for the next 9 days.

Harrell.

Pickett injury

+ +

Kevin Greene. His guy's showed up tonight. Perry, Lattimore, CM3, Walden, Moses.

Defense in general. Capers mixed some nut into the vanilla tonight. Couple safety blitzes. Good push from the DL tonight.

Benson looked good. He had the Bengals attention. Respect?

Anybody know how good the Bengals OL was last year? I know Dalton went to PB as a rook so they must have helped him out some.

Just hearing a lot of good things about DL tonight and trying to put it in perspective.

What happened to Pickett?

all they said was Pickett had a calf injury.

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

+
Finally saw an actual football team on the field tonight. Offense and defense.
Feel much better going into next week. I think it will allow for longer playing time (better evaluation), and not have as many questions about our draft picks. I could see some positions shaking out tonight; who is likely starting, primary backup, and the 'floaters'.
The difference Benson makes at RB. It was a stark (heh!) contrast to what we've seen so far this year.
Pass rush.
Tackling.

-
Depth at OL and DL. If Sherrod heals as expected, I think we're good with him, EDS, and possibly Genus. Otherwise there's a big--if not huge--dropoff in talent. Pretty much the same on defense; I think we can hang on until Neal, Hargrove, and Walden are done with their punishments. I'm not as worried about Walden, but we need some bodies up front for some good rotations.


FWIW, I didn't see Harrell as a + or a - tonight. His play overall may have been slightly better, but ridiculous pressure on every attempt makes it hard to gauge his throws. And he sustained a drive or 2 with some 1st downs, so if nothing else, I'm not as worried about him this week as I was last week.

quote:

Originally posted by packerboi
James Starks. No he didn't play tonight. Yes, he has reason to be rather worried.

I'm not going to defend Starks too much and I think he might not be quick witted enough to be a great all purpose back. That said turf toe is a really bad injury for any skill position player and at worst I think he gets ir'd for the season. He's making $490,00 this year and $575,000 next year. he may never be 'the guy', but if injuries hit the rb's you can do a whole lot worse than him and $575,000 is cheap insurance for 2013.

+
Trenni's cans. A lot of times when she was doing Brewers games they looked like they were probably flapjacks and were pretty hard to make a decision on. Tonight they appeared to be in good shape. A good bra can do wonders.

++++
Kickers. Punter was great again when needed and Crosby kicks right down the middle.
----
Bush as a cornerback. I pray we see non of that during the season.

quote:

Originally posted by Tdog:
all they said was Pickett had a calf injury.

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

Reggie White?

quote:

Originally posted by ammo:
++++
Kickers. Punter was great again when needed and Crosby kicks right down the middle.
----
Bush as a cornerback. I pray we see non of that during the season.

Shields was probably worse last night. Sad but true.

Benson really impressed me with his play. He looks fast, powerful and decisive with the football.... or maybe I just forgot what a good NFL running back looks like after seeing Grant and Starks trip over each other the past several years. I am surprised Benson was sitting on the street a few days ago... Doesn't make much sense to me.

Word on Pickett is he has a calf strain. Pickett didn't know how bad it was but he was seen walking normal on the sideline. I'm sure he'll be ready to go.

Harrell can't play at this level. Nice guy... I'm sure he works hard and it's obvious the staff and players like him, but that's not going to cut it.

I officially don't care about the Borell, Gurley or whoever else race for the last WR spot (If one exists). None of them have stepped up.

Newouse seemed a bit shaky at times, but I think he'll be ok.

Cobb needs the ball in his hands... a lot.

I've been as critical of Harrell as anyone, but I would like to see what he could do with the #1 offense. I seriously doubt he would perform like Flynn, but I'm wondering if he could get us through a half if he had receivers running the right routes and an OLine that could protect him.

quote:

Originally posted by Pakrz:

Cobb needs the ball in his hands... a lot.

This.

quote:

Originally posted by Tdog:
all they said was Pickett had a calf injury.

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

Heck, he looks like Reggie in the face. Not sure he or anyone else plays like Reggie, but he reminds me of Reggie every time I see him.

-- / ++

That 2nd/3rd level OL was putrid in pass protection though they did open some holes in the running game. Most of these guys have played 3 different spots on the OL in the first 3 preseason games. Hopefully the staff finds a keeper or 3...

CedBen - so that's what a decisive, gifted RB looks like. His vision/decision on the 1 pass recept he had was a thing of beauty - caught the ball with his back to the D, looked over his right should, saw the 2 defenders, spun to this left a got 10 yards.
Green - maybe he was pressing with CB now on the team but he seemed to run into the line before the play/hole developed.
Tyler and Cooper - ran hard late, but they are PS guys maybe.

Jennings, easy catch, then an awesome move and burst to high gear - nice to have him back.

Crabtree is going to be on the team. 53 man predictions that don't include him are asinine.

Boykins, Gurley, Borel - PS, though Gurley came close to blocking a punt last night.

Bush - I like(d) him in the past for his ST play, but I really hope that McMillian or Ross or one of the other young DBs replaces him for ST because they are better as DBs if pressed into service.
Shields - getting fooled too easily on PA. Nice break on the ball on the INT. House and Hayward - are ahead of him I believe.


Manning is PS at best.

Lattimore made the team, if he hadn't already had a spot due to Bishop injury.
Perry, Matthews, Walden, Moses - there's your 4 OLB
Hawk, Smith, Francois, Lattimore - there's your 4 ILB
Jones would be the 9th LBer if they keep that many.

Harrell - looked about the same last night. Made some reads, missed others... made some throws, missed others... pressure bothers him at times and he does not always see/feel it or respond properly. I'm sure they could upgrade there but doubt they make a move.

quote:

Originally posted by Tdog:

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

For the same reasons that any politician should ever equate anyone with Hitler, no casual poster should ever equate anyone with Reggie White (especially if said player has not played in a game that counts)

quote:

FWIW, I didn't see Harrell as a + or a - tonight. His play overall may have been slightly better, but ridiculous pressure on every attempt makes it hard to gauge his throws.

In the regular season, what do you think opposing defenses are going to do? Play patty-cake?

I didn't get to see the game. Did he get any time behind the starting O-line?

quote:

Originally posted by StarrToDowler:
I didn't get to see the game. Did he get any time behind the starting O-line?

No.

AR12 and rest of 1st team offense played the 1st half. Harrell and 2nd teamers started in the 2nd half.
I think we'll get to see Harrell with the 1's next week. There is no use even playing AR12, and the coaches (and us fans) need to see him with the top line. Inspite of what is being said publicly, there has to be big time concern on Lombardi Ave about the back-up QB.

Very impressive game for the 1st teamers last night. Defense esp was really flying around. AJ Green couldn't beat Williams. .. another good sign.

quote:

Originally posted by Pikes Peak:

quote:

Originally posted by Tdog:

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

For the same reasons that any politician should ever equate anyone with Hitler, no casual poster should ever equate anyone with Reggie White (especially if said player has not played in a game that counts)

He's no Reggie White. Reggie's one of the 3 most dominating defensive players ever. I don't see anyone saying he is, just that he's showing flashes. I agree with those observations.

Perry is playing on the opposite side of where he's always played and standing up. He's still has work to do to figure things out. Once he does he's going to be too much for the majority of the RT's he faces. Today he's just a raw kid that weighs 270 lbs and runs a 4.6 40 that's using raw power and instinct to move guys around. There is no questioning he is a powerfull guy. Once he figures out how to mix that power with speed and technique he's going to be fun to watch.

I think anyone who saw what Reggie White did to Tony Mandarich when Reggie was playing for Philly in 1990 would agree that no D-Lineman in today's NFL is really at the level White was at back in those days. Teams basically gave up trying to run the ball to his side of the field he was so dominant.

It's kind of amazing that by the time White got to the Packers, he had spent 9 years in Pro Football already and still was able to dominate for another 5 years or so. To this day, I don't think we've seen anyone close to his combination of athleticism and power. A guy like Julius Peppers is a great athlete, but he doesn't even come close to the pure raw country strength that White had.

Nick Perry has a chance to be pretty good, but no, I don't see Reggie White in him... nor do I see Reggie White in any other defensive player in the NFL right now.

Pollies

First team run game. Benson will probably fall just short of his 6 YPC average on the year, but the threat or the 8-9 yd runs on any given snap will be enough. It seemed like Cincy was using the “blueprint” KC “discovered” last year by letting the front four fly upfield while dropping 7. I’d rather not see #12 running that much in a game, but those yards will be there for the taking if that’s how teams want to approach this offense.

Jennings’ juke after catching the hitch. Just silly.

Tramon Williams had no intentions of letting Green just pluck jump balls out of the air. He plays way bigger than his 5’11 size, and he’ll need to with Marshall and Tron in the division.

Moses might just be the top backup at both OLB spots when this season starts.

Nancies

I don’t know that Alex Green has taken that next step they expected. I’m sure they were eager to get Benson a lot of work, but Green didn’t do much in his limited snaps. It feels like he takes each handoff and tries to win a footrace to the sidelines like he’s still playing WAC defenses. I had hoped he might win that 3rd down back job, but that looks to be Kuhn’s. Nice for protection, but takes another weapon off the field.

The refs. Good god that was the worst performance I’ve seen yet in the preseason. The two no calls on PI would have been big in a real game, and I thought the PF on Mays was junk. There was one point I thought the Pack were going to get a playoff after the play clock died because it took them 4 seconds to whistle it. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but this needs to be settled soon.

Remember that hotly contested battle for the #6 WR spot that consumed our Spring? Me neither.

If every team tries to use K.C's "blueprint" We'll be 15-1 again

With A.Green they need just enough from him in the run game to keep D's honest so that when they bring him in on (expected) passing downs, because he should excel when getting the ball in space.

If Benson can be competent, this offense is going to be historic (sans injuries...knock on wood). Maybe it was just me, but I thought Grant and Starks were awful last year. They had flashes but that was it. If Benson can pick up those 3rd and shorts, and pick up 4-5 yards on 1st and 2nd down, this offense could actually be better than last year. That's scary for the rest of the NFL.

Reggie White may he RIP. As a senior fan(ol'coot) of the PACKERS for 45+ years and watching almost every D lineman during this time imo Reggie was the strongest I ever saw. He's the only D lineman I ever saw lift a Olineman off his feet,using only his forearm, and carry said Olineman back into the QB for a sack. And he did this feat more than once.

Harrell may know the offense, but he can't execute it. I know he's under tremendous pressure, but he also holds the ball, and can't seem to pick up his hot reads. NTM, when he does have time, he isn't accurate. We really need someone to give us a chance if Rodgers goes down for a couple of games.

Benson seems to have something our other RBs don't have: vision. He knows where the hole is and hits it with authority. Doesn't "feel" his way around behind the LOS. Just hope his ball security issues are settled.

they've been stressing "high and tight" with him since he got in GB from what I've read.

+++++

It was hard to make an assessment on how the starters in the secondary played because the guys up front had the soulless ginger running for his life the whole first half. I hope that was more our guys being good than it was the Bengals O-line sucking. We will find out in two weeks.

Ced Benson looks legit. Hungry mentioned his move on the dump off to him, that was a thing of beauty. He had some nice holes to work with and made the most of them.

Our kickers are top notch.

------


Newhouse scares the hell out of me. Having him be responsible for #12's blindside is going to keep me up at night. I don't see him being the starter by seasons end.. Hopefully Sherrod comes back, gets to play his natural position, and performs like a 1rst round talent.

quote:

Originally posted by Goalline:

quote:

Originally posted by Tdog:
all they said was Pickett had a calf injury.

I've seen it a couple of times now and I'm gonna say it. I see flashes of Reggie White in Perry's build and bull rush. looking very much like quite the keeper.

Heck, he looks like Reggie in the face. Not sure he or anyone else plays like Reggie, but he reminds me of Reggie every time I see him.

You just think all black people look alike, which makes you racist.

quote:

Originally posted by Stinkfinger:
+
Trenni's cans. A lot of times when she was doing Brewers games they looked like they were probably flapjacks and were pretty hard to make a decision on. Tonight they appeared to be in good shape. A good bra can do wonders.

Agreed. Something happened to Trenni since she left FSN and went to the MLB Network and now back home. Seems like she may have went to something like MM3's QB school for eye candy sports chicks. Worked well!

Didn't see the tilt but am looking forward to watching CedBen run the rock at 3:00 today.

Going with a + for TT getting out of his comfort zone this season and bringing in some vets and hopefully squeeze some production out of them.

Cheers! And just for TT, I am putting radishes (which I've never had) on my salad tonight!

Charles Woodson is glad to see TT finally break loose and bring in a some vets and hopefully squeeze some production out of them too!

I don't think signing FAs is "out of his comfort zone", I think he's just weary of overpaying. He has signed plenty of free agents, just not high dollar free agents. Benson was available for vet minimum and was coming off a 1,000 yard season with no injuries, that's a solid deal for Green Bay and not at all out of character for him. Had Benson been asking a lot more than that, there's no way Thompson signs him, same for Hargrove. It's not about him being afraid or against free agents, he just waits for the best deal.

Regarding the Reggie White comments he was a mountain of a Man in more ways than his physical stature.

I was in the same room with Reggie and Ross Verba , Verba was a pretty big guy in his own right , he worked his ass off in the weight room and ate enormous amounts of food to maintain his weight.

Reggie was just huge and it did not appear that he was a weight room guy at all.

Ross looked like a junior high school kid and Reggie was a Man.

I am not so sure Starks makes the cut this year.

I agree with Coach's take on the roster of course with a few minor changes on numbers on the Oline , LB and the secondary.

I was thinking that MM was going to pull Rodgers after his second rushing TD. That would have gave Harrell some time with the #1's and given BJ more time also.

Oline is still shaky with the depth.

I have been waiting for some big plays by the late round rookies/udfa's and it seems that Moses is the only one who has made any plays.

It was good to see Manning finally playing and making a sack. Francois now has a hamstring issue so Manning should see more time this week.