Partial
08-18-2007, 11:04 PM
Safety puts on a show in Lambeau blowout
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 18, 2007
Green Bay - Amidst all the sacks, interceptions, fumbles caused and touchdowns scored, the most significant development for the Green Bay Packers on defense might have been the play of safety Atari Bigby.
The Seattle Seahawks didn't play quarterback Matt Hasselbeck or the two talented tackles that protect him Saturday night and it showed as the Packers annihilated the remaining members of the No. 1 offense and its backups. When the night was over, the Packers had forced six turnovers, rung up six sacks, forced three fumbles and scored a pair of touchdowns in a 48-13 victory.
And while end Cullen Jenkins was dominating once again, linebacker A.J. Hawk looked impressive and cornerback Jarrett Bush picked off a pair of passes, it was Bigby who stirred up the most dust on a cool, rainy evening. In just the way he attacked Seattle's offense, Bigby showed why the coaches are so high on him and why he's a good bet to leap over veteran starter Marquand Manuel on the depth chart.
Bigby showed what kind of force he can be blitzing from either an in-the-box position or as a slot corner, twice dropping Seattle quarterbacks for sacks and a third time forcing an incompletion with in-the-face pressure. Most impressive about Bigby's quarterback hunting was the fierceness and explosion in which he came through the line of scrimmage.
One of the sacks occurred late in the second quarter resulted in quarterback Seneca Wallace, who started in place of the resting Hasselbeck, to fumble. Bigby wasn't picked up on a strong-side blitz and as Wallace cocked his arm to throw hot, Bigby took off like a helicopter and landed on top of the quarterback.
Bigby scooped up the ball and then lost it, but teammate Tracy White was trailing behind and picked up the ball and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.
The game was over by that time - the touchdown gave the Packers a 38-10 lead - but Bigby wasn't done. On Seattle's final possession of the first half, he came off the edge and vaulted over fullback Leonard Weaver, landing on top of third-string quarterback David Greene for another sack. The Seahawks were facing a first down at the Packer 25 with 21 seconds left and were forced to kick a field goal after Bigby's play.
Bigby had two negative plays in an otherwise solid performance against Pittsburgh in the exhibition opener a week ago and the coaches wanted to find out this week whether he was just teasing him with his training camp performance. They gave him some turns with the No. 1 defense in practice and then turned him loose on the game's third series, pairing him with Manuel at the safety positions.
Bigby showed his versatility in the Packers' 3-2-6 scheme by playing both the deep safety position and slot corner. After pairing with Manuel for two series, he played alongside rookie Aaron Rouse the rest of the half.
When the half was over he had four tackles, two sacks a quarterback hit and a forced fumble. It's clear that Bigby has far more athleticism than Manuel, who after leaving Seattle for a five-year, $10 million to join the Packers had a terrible season in 2006.
The Packers have been looking for someone to challenge Manuel for a starting job and they know they have it in Bigby. At 5-11, 211 pounds, Bigby has the size to play in the box and plug running holes, but he also has as much range as any other safety other than starter Nick Collins.
It's possible the Packers could pair Bigby and Collins in the backfield as soon as Monday when they begin to prepare for their Thursday exhibition game against Tennessee. If Bigby didn't have any assignment errors, he has at the very least pulled even with Manuel for the starting job and probably ahead in the minds of many coaches and personnel officials.
Bigby's big night coincided with a dominating performance by the defense against Seattle' makeshift starting lineup.
The Packers set the tone early, taking advantage of the absence all-pro left tackle Walter Jones with sacks by ends Cullen Jenkins and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The sack by Gbaja-Biamila forced a fumble that linebacker Nick Barnett returned 62 yards for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 24-3 lead.
By the end of the half, just about everybody else had gotten into the act, including Hawk, who tossed aside Weaver for a 5-yard sack, end Aaron Kampman, who hit Wallace as he threw, and Bush, who notched the first of two interceptions late in the half (he dropped what would have been his third in the second half).
The worst plays on defense were Barnett's attempt at a kill shot on receiver Nate Burleson that knocked Collins off the tackle and turned a 25-yard reception into a 55-yarder and linebackers Desmond Bishop and Tracy White failing to plug a hole on running back Maurice Morris' 15-yard touchdown run.
Overall the Seahawks had 161 yards and 12 first downs in the half, but they had three turnovers.
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 18, 2007
Green Bay - Amidst all the sacks, interceptions, fumbles caused and touchdowns scored, the most significant development for the Green Bay Packers on defense might have been the play of safety Atari Bigby.
The Seattle Seahawks didn't play quarterback Matt Hasselbeck or the two talented tackles that protect him Saturday night and it showed as the Packers annihilated the remaining members of the No. 1 offense and its backups. When the night was over, the Packers had forced six turnovers, rung up six sacks, forced three fumbles and scored a pair of touchdowns in a 48-13 victory.
And while end Cullen Jenkins was dominating once again, linebacker A.J. Hawk looked impressive and cornerback Jarrett Bush picked off a pair of passes, it was Bigby who stirred up the most dust on a cool, rainy evening. In just the way he attacked Seattle's offense, Bigby showed why the coaches are so high on him and why he's a good bet to leap over veteran starter Marquand Manuel on the depth chart.
Bigby showed what kind of force he can be blitzing from either an in-the-box position or as a slot corner, twice dropping Seattle quarterbacks for sacks and a third time forcing an incompletion with in-the-face pressure. Most impressive about Bigby's quarterback hunting was the fierceness and explosion in which he came through the line of scrimmage.
One of the sacks occurred late in the second quarter resulted in quarterback Seneca Wallace, who started in place of the resting Hasselbeck, to fumble. Bigby wasn't picked up on a strong-side blitz and as Wallace cocked his arm to throw hot, Bigby took off like a helicopter and landed on top of the quarterback.
Bigby scooped up the ball and then lost it, but teammate Tracy White was trailing behind and picked up the ball and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.
The game was over by that time - the touchdown gave the Packers a 38-10 lead - but Bigby wasn't done. On Seattle's final possession of the first half, he came off the edge and vaulted over fullback Leonard Weaver, landing on top of third-string quarterback David Greene for another sack. The Seahawks were facing a first down at the Packer 25 with 21 seconds left and were forced to kick a field goal after Bigby's play.
Bigby had two negative plays in an otherwise solid performance against Pittsburgh in the exhibition opener a week ago and the coaches wanted to find out this week whether he was just teasing him with his training camp performance. They gave him some turns with the No. 1 defense in practice and then turned him loose on the game's third series, pairing him with Manuel at the safety positions.
Bigby showed his versatility in the Packers' 3-2-6 scheme by playing both the deep safety position and slot corner. After pairing with Manuel for two series, he played alongside rookie Aaron Rouse the rest of the half.
When the half was over he had four tackles, two sacks a quarterback hit and a forced fumble. It's clear that Bigby has far more athleticism than Manuel, who after leaving Seattle for a five-year, $10 million to join the Packers had a terrible season in 2006.
The Packers have been looking for someone to challenge Manuel for a starting job and they know they have it in Bigby. At 5-11, 211 pounds, Bigby has the size to play in the box and plug running holes, but he also has as much range as any other safety other than starter Nick Collins.
It's possible the Packers could pair Bigby and Collins in the backfield as soon as Monday when they begin to prepare for their Thursday exhibition game against Tennessee. If Bigby didn't have any assignment errors, he has at the very least pulled even with Manuel for the starting job and probably ahead in the minds of many coaches and personnel officials.
Bigby's big night coincided with a dominating performance by the defense against Seattle' makeshift starting lineup.
The Packers set the tone early, taking advantage of the absence all-pro left tackle Walter Jones with sacks by ends Cullen Jenkins and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The sack by Gbaja-Biamila forced a fumble that linebacker Nick Barnett returned 62 yards for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 24-3 lead.
By the end of the half, just about everybody else had gotten into the act, including Hawk, who tossed aside Weaver for a 5-yard sack, end Aaron Kampman, who hit Wallace as he threw, and Bush, who notched the first of two interceptions late in the half (he dropped what would have been his third in the second half).
The worst plays on defense were Barnett's attempt at a kill shot on receiver Nate Burleson that knocked Collins off the tackle and turned a 25-yard reception into a 55-yarder and linebackers Desmond Bishop and Tracy White failing to plug a hole on running back Maurice Morris' 15-yard touchdown run.
Overall the Seahawks had 161 yards and 12 first downs in the half, but they had three turnovers.