motife
09-19-2006, 03:25 PM
Rating the Packers vs. Saints: Golden opportunity slips away
Posted: Sept. 18, 2006
On the Packers
Bob McGinn
Green Bay - At times over the next three months, the Green Bay Packers will have no chance in games because their opponent will be superior or they'll just play terrible football.
Neither was the case Sunday at Lambeau Field, which is why the Packers' 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints was so painful. Any way you slice it, the Packers lost at home to a team that was worse than them last season.
Here is a rating of the Packers, with their 1 to 5 football totals in parentheses:
RECEIVERS (3)
Donald Driver caught eight of the 10 passes thrown to him for 153 yards, including 52 after the catch. It was quite a show. Humbling Mike McKenzie at the line. Breaking two tackles to turn a quick glance into 48 yards. Making tough catches in traffic on three third downs. Outrunning McKenzie to the corner on a reverse. Maybe Brett Favre should start feeding Driver as he once fed Sterling Sharpe. McKenzie also was victimized on a rub route in which he ran into S Roman Harper and gave up a 23-yard TD to Greg Jennings. It was a beautifully designed play and a gorgeous route by Jennings. As good as Driver was, Bubba Franks was just as bad in the worst game of his career. He had two dropped passes, was responsible for 1½ "bad" runs and one-half sack, drew false-start and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, was saved a fumble by the ground and moved sluggishly. The coaches obviously wanted to get Franks the ball this week, too. David Martin did some solid work as a receiver but blew a cut block on DE Charles Grant that enabled him to crush Ahman Green on his lost fumble.
OFFENSIVE LINE (2)
There was a stark difference in the performance of the tackles compared to the guards. Chad Clifton was physically manhandled a time or two in the run game but was able to pitch a protection shutout against speedy RE Will Smith. On the other side, Mark Tauscher played well against Grant, another top-flight end. LG Daryn Colledge made his first start for injured Jason Spitz. He didn't get much movement as a drive blocker, struggled on some cut blocks and had problems in protection even though the entire protection scheme was designed to hide him and RG Tony Moll. Until Colledge improves his flexibility, strength and aggressiveness, he won't be the answer. Moll was trashed a few times by hulking NT Hollis Thomas and had a role in three pressures. Saints coordinator Gary Gibbs blitzed on merely 9% of passes, making it easy on the rookies.
QUARTERBACKS (3½)
Favre still can make sensational throws. Witness the TD pass to Jennings, the 22-yard corner route to Driver and the 42-yard corner to Driver. There wasn't much of a window on any of them and yet he was able to put the ball in the perfect spot. Arm strength never has been a concern. Favre simply lacked accuracy last season on intermediate and deep throws. Convert the six drops into completions and he would have hit 67.3% of 55 passes for almost 400 yards. Favre has had to make adjustments to fit the system. Mike McCarthy didn't call even one seven-step drop. He had Favre in the shotgun 46 times. And he kept dashing him toward one side so the guards would have an easier time in protection. Favre has been patient, sometimes overly so. He held the ball too long on both sacks and his only interception. In the end, with a shot for overtime hanging in the balance, he threw a horrible pass on fourth down and that was it.
RUNNING BACKS (1)
The offensive line isn't moving people off the ball at all. And now, without Vonta Leach, the lead-blocking by William Henderson, Martin and Franks is marginal. So it isn't as if Green has cracks that he isn't seeing. At times, he might be a tad cutback conscious, but with a mass of bodies at the point he's just trying to find some daylight. Still, Green (65 snaps) hasn't been able to create much of anything on his own. He's getting what's blocked and not much else. After dropping merely six of 154 passes from 2003-'05, he dropped two Sunday. Not only that but he also fumbled twice, losing one. Noah Herron (12) was the victim of woeful blocking on two of his three carries but also ran a nice route and scored. Henderson's return to action numbered merely 13 snaps.
DEFENSIVE LINE (2½)
Cullen Jenkins (37 snaps) started ahead of Colin Cole (32) and had the better game. Jenkins set up a sack for Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila with a nasty spin move against LG Jamar Nesbit and made his usual assortment of hustle plays. Cole was just plain soft on both of Deuce McAllister's TD runs. Each time, he was stood up and moved off the ball. "KGB" had a mildly disappointing day working the edges against LT Jammal Brown, who has had major difficulty against speed, and also was blown away on McAllister's decisive TD. Coach Sean Payton ended up double-teaming him on just 32% of passes. When Payton foolishly tried to block Aaron Kampman with TE Mark Campbell, the result was two of Kampman's three sacks. Kampman blew the flare responsibility on a 24-yard pass to a wide-open McAllister. On the play, coordinator Bob Sanders rushed six for only one of two times all day. With Kenderick Allen inactive, Ryan Pickett (37) played extensively and stacked the point with gusto.
LINEBACKERS (2)
Torched again this week, Brady Poppinga's limitations in coverage are undermining the defense. He was late to the flat on two short-yardage passes, appeared almost helpless matched against Horn in the slot on what turned out to be a 57-yard completion and dropped an interception. Veteran Ben Taylor remains an option. If not, the coaches must keep Poppinga off islands until he has more time to develop. The speed of A.J. Hawk was instrumental in keeping a governor on Reggie Bush. Hawk bounced around, ran hard to the ball and showed pride at least trying to get off blocks. Nick Barnett gave up a 23-yard swing pass to Bush when he paused against the rookie's amazing stutter step instead of continuing full-bore and using the sideline as his ally.
SECONDARY (2)
The standout was Al Harris. Drew Brees didn't do any business against his tight bump-and-run coverage. On the other side, Charles Woodson floated around, gave too much cushion at times but otherwise was solid. Nickel back Ahmad Carroll played a ton and did some good things against run and pass. But Carroll's afternoon will be remembered for the 26-yard TD pass to Devery Henderson when, in a three-deep zone and Marquand Manuel responsible for the slant, he didn't stay over the top on a slant-and-go. Henderson didn't even sell the route that well. Nick Collins also bit on a play-fake that led to a 35-yard TD pass and was burned by a tight end (Campbell) on a deep sideline pattern that he almost seemed to be loafing on. Collins' speed and toughness were evident much of the day but anyone who thinks he can cover is kidding himself. Jarrett Bush, the No. 4 cornerback, looked shaky.
KICKERS (3½)
Dave Rayner took advantage of having the wind at his back on all six kickoffs, averaging 73.7 yards and 4.07 seconds of hang time. Jon Ryan punted six times, averaging 47.7 (gross), 37.0 (net) and 3.96 (hang time).
SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
Koren Robinson certainly wasn't anything special in his debut on kickoff returns. He didn't show much burst, carried the ball too loosely, mishandled two balls and got into tiffs twice. At least Woodson is a confident catcher on punts. Donald Lee helped the coverage units regain a measure of respectability.
OVERALL (2)
Posted: Sept. 18, 2006
On the Packers
Bob McGinn
Green Bay - At times over the next three months, the Green Bay Packers will have no chance in games because their opponent will be superior or they'll just play terrible football.
Neither was the case Sunday at Lambeau Field, which is why the Packers' 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints was so painful. Any way you slice it, the Packers lost at home to a team that was worse than them last season.
Here is a rating of the Packers, with their 1 to 5 football totals in parentheses:
RECEIVERS (3)
Donald Driver caught eight of the 10 passes thrown to him for 153 yards, including 52 after the catch. It was quite a show. Humbling Mike McKenzie at the line. Breaking two tackles to turn a quick glance into 48 yards. Making tough catches in traffic on three third downs. Outrunning McKenzie to the corner on a reverse. Maybe Brett Favre should start feeding Driver as he once fed Sterling Sharpe. McKenzie also was victimized on a rub route in which he ran into S Roman Harper and gave up a 23-yard TD to Greg Jennings. It was a beautifully designed play and a gorgeous route by Jennings. As good as Driver was, Bubba Franks was just as bad in the worst game of his career. He had two dropped passes, was responsible for 1½ "bad" runs and one-half sack, drew false-start and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, was saved a fumble by the ground and moved sluggishly. The coaches obviously wanted to get Franks the ball this week, too. David Martin did some solid work as a receiver but blew a cut block on DE Charles Grant that enabled him to crush Ahman Green on his lost fumble.
OFFENSIVE LINE (2)
There was a stark difference in the performance of the tackles compared to the guards. Chad Clifton was physically manhandled a time or two in the run game but was able to pitch a protection shutout against speedy RE Will Smith. On the other side, Mark Tauscher played well against Grant, another top-flight end. LG Daryn Colledge made his first start for injured Jason Spitz. He didn't get much movement as a drive blocker, struggled on some cut blocks and had problems in protection even though the entire protection scheme was designed to hide him and RG Tony Moll. Until Colledge improves his flexibility, strength and aggressiveness, he won't be the answer. Moll was trashed a few times by hulking NT Hollis Thomas and had a role in three pressures. Saints coordinator Gary Gibbs blitzed on merely 9% of passes, making it easy on the rookies.
QUARTERBACKS (3½)
Favre still can make sensational throws. Witness the TD pass to Jennings, the 22-yard corner route to Driver and the 42-yard corner to Driver. There wasn't much of a window on any of them and yet he was able to put the ball in the perfect spot. Arm strength never has been a concern. Favre simply lacked accuracy last season on intermediate and deep throws. Convert the six drops into completions and he would have hit 67.3% of 55 passes for almost 400 yards. Favre has had to make adjustments to fit the system. Mike McCarthy didn't call even one seven-step drop. He had Favre in the shotgun 46 times. And he kept dashing him toward one side so the guards would have an easier time in protection. Favre has been patient, sometimes overly so. He held the ball too long on both sacks and his only interception. In the end, with a shot for overtime hanging in the balance, he threw a horrible pass on fourth down and that was it.
RUNNING BACKS (1)
The offensive line isn't moving people off the ball at all. And now, without Vonta Leach, the lead-blocking by William Henderson, Martin and Franks is marginal. So it isn't as if Green has cracks that he isn't seeing. At times, he might be a tad cutback conscious, but with a mass of bodies at the point he's just trying to find some daylight. Still, Green (65 snaps) hasn't been able to create much of anything on his own. He's getting what's blocked and not much else. After dropping merely six of 154 passes from 2003-'05, he dropped two Sunday. Not only that but he also fumbled twice, losing one. Noah Herron (12) was the victim of woeful blocking on two of his three carries but also ran a nice route and scored. Henderson's return to action numbered merely 13 snaps.
DEFENSIVE LINE (2½)
Cullen Jenkins (37 snaps) started ahead of Colin Cole (32) and had the better game. Jenkins set up a sack for Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila with a nasty spin move against LG Jamar Nesbit and made his usual assortment of hustle plays. Cole was just plain soft on both of Deuce McAllister's TD runs. Each time, he was stood up and moved off the ball. "KGB" had a mildly disappointing day working the edges against LT Jammal Brown, who has had major difficulty against speed, and also was blown away on McAllister's decisive TD. Coach Sean Payton ended up double-teaming him on just 32% of passes. When Payton foolishly tried to block Aaron Kampman with TE Mark Campbell, the result was two of Kampman's three sacks. Kampman blew the flare responsibility on a 24-yard pass to a wide-open McAllister. On the play, coordinator Bob Sanders rushed six for only one of two times all day. With Kenderick Allen inactive, Ryan Pickett (37) played extensively and stacked the point with gusto.
LINEBACKERS (2)
Torched again this week, Brady Poppinga's limitations in coverage are undermining the defense. He was late to the flat on two short-yardage passes, appeared almost helpless matched against Horn in the slot on what turned out to be a 57-yard completion and dropped an interception. Veteran Ben Taylor remains an option. If not, the coaches must keep Poppinga off islands until he has more time to develop. The speed of A.J. Hawk was instrumental in keeping a governor on Reggie Bush. Hawk bounced around, ran hard to the ball and showed pride at least trying to get off blocks. Nick Barnett gave up a 23-yard swing pass to Bush when he paused against the rookie's amazing stutter step instead of continuing full-bore and using the sideline as his ally.
SECONDARY (2)
The standout was Al Harris. Drew Brees didn't do any business against his tight bump-and-run coverage. On the other side, Charles Woodson floated around, gave too much cushion at times but otherwise was solid. Nickel back Ahmad Carroll played a ton and did some good things against run and pass. But Carroll's afternoon will be remembered for the 26-yard TD pass to Devery Henderson when, in a three-deep zone and Marquand Manuel responsible for the slant, he didn't stay over the top on a slant-and-go. Henderson didn't even sell the route that well. Nick Collins also bit on a play-fake that led to a 35-yard TD pass and was burned by a tight end (Campbell) on a deep sideline pattern that he almost seemed to be loafing on. Collins' speed and toughness were evident much of the day but anyone who thinks he can cover is kidding himself. Jarrett Bush, the No. 4 cornerback, looked shaky.
KICKERS (3½)
Dave Rayner took advantage of having the wind at his back on all six kickoffs, averaging 73.7 yards and 4.07 seconds of hang time. Jon Ryan punted six times, averaging 47.7 (gross), 37.0 (net) and 3.96 (hang time).
SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
Koren Robinson certainly wasn't anything special in his debut on kickoff returns. He didn't show much burst, carried the ball too loosely, mishandled two balls and got into tiffs twice. At least Woodson is a confident catcher on punts. Donald Lee helped the coverage units regain a measure of respectability.
OVERALL (2)