Partial
08-23-2007, 11:09 PM
Link (http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/PKR01/70823169/1058/PKRFeatures)
The Green Bay Packers couldn’t run the ball at all against one of the NFL’s stoutest defenses.
But in the closest thing the Packers will have to a dress rehearsal for their regular-season opener in just over two weeks, they played the kind of defense they’re going to need for a successful season and got further proof that third-round draft pick James Jones has upgraded their receiving corps and can produce against anybody.
Jones had six catches and the Packers held Jacksonville to only 97 total yards in the first half of a 21-13 loss to to the Jaguars in front of a crowd of 69,268 at Lambeau Field in the Bishop’s Charities Game on Thursday night.
The Packers, who dropped to 2-1 in the exhibition season, certainly didn’t produce anything close a balanced offense against Jacksonville, which last season finished only 8-8 but had the No. 2 in the NFL in yards allowed, fourth in points allowed, and fourth in both yards allowed per game and yards allowed per carry.
Rookie halfback Brandon Jackson had few openings going against Jacksonville’s starters in the first half and finished with eight carries for only 10 yards, with a long run of only four yards. Allowing that the Packers were facing what probably will be one of the best defenses in the league this year, coach Mike McCarthy nevertheless was looking for more from a run game that struggled last year in his rookie season as coach.
However, the Packers, in part because they appear to have a solid top three in their receiving corps, moved the ball through the air – quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers were a combined 19-for-27 for 201 yards passing ain the first half against the Jaguars’ starters. Favre, who has had an OK exhibition season, was 14-for-20 for 130 yards in his four series of play, including taking the offense on a 76-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard chip-shot field goal by Dave Rayner with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
Rodgers, in the meantime, came through in his first appearance against a starting defense in the exhibition season and led a 73-yard touchdown drive in the final 3:30 of the half, during which he went 5-for-7 passing for 71 yards.
But the standout of the night was Jones, who as he has done all training camp continued to simply get open and make plays. Jones finished the first half with six catches for 80 yards, including three receptions from Rodgers on three straight plays immediately after Donald Driver was knocked out of the game because of an injury to his right foot.
Rodgers had one major blemish, a fumble after a 14-yard catch on a post route. If Jones had been able to break cornerback Rashean Mathis’ tackle on a all-out blitz on the play, he would have scored a 68-yard touchdown. But Mathis wrapped one arm around Jones and punched the ball out from behind with his other hand, and Jacksonville recovered.
Jones also was wide open for a four-yard touchdown pass from Favre on a third down, but Jacksonville’s Reggie Hayward knocked down Favre’s throw at the line of scrimmage.
The Packers’ played their starters, with only a couple of changes, the entire first half and came out ahead 10-0 against the Jaguars’ starters, who played the entire half. The Packers’ full starting lineup played on offense for all but the final series of the first half, and then the only change was Rodgers for Favre. They played most of their starting defense the entire half as well, though backup linebackers Desmond Bishop in the middle, Spencer Havner on the strong side and Tracy White on the weak side replaced starters Nick Barnett, Brady Poppinga and A.J. Hawk late in the second quarter.
Jacksonville has its problems at quarterback, where starter Byron Leftwich was injured last season and is playing this season to keep his job long term. The Jaguars ran the ball better than the Packers but couldn’t score in the first half against a defense that among other things stopped third-and-one and fourth-and one runs on back-to-back plays. The night might have been different if the Jaguars gave No. 1 halfback Fred Taylor more carries, but they wanted to keep the 10th-year pro healthy and gave him only three carries for 19 yards before giving him the rest of the night off.
Regardless, his backup, Maurice Jones-Drew, averaged more than five yards a carry last season as a rookie but had only seven carries for 21 yards in Taylor’s place in the first half. Barnett was especially active and had five tackles in his two quarters of play, including , making the third-and-one stop and being in on the fourth-and-one tackle, both on carries by Jones-Drew.
Leftwich, who also played the first series on the third quarter, finished the night only 6-for-16 passing for 67 yards. The Packers didn’t sack him or get an interception, but the Packers’ front four had him under pressure several times, as his passer rating of 46.5 points in the first half reflected. Besides being in on the two short-yardage stops, Barnett had good coverage on a fourth-and-four pass on which Leftwhich overled Jones-Drew for an incompletion.
The Packers also had to be encouraged that Rodgers took his next step and moved the ball against a quality defense in his first appearance against starters this exhibition season. In that one series he was pressured several times but either avoided the rush or got the ball out quickly enough to avoid a sack. His longest pass on the drive was a 23-yarder to Jones on an out pattern when Mathis missed on his gamble to intercept the high throw.
Rodgers, who also played the Packers’ three offensive series in the third quarter, finished the night with a passer rating of 95.6 points (6-for-9 for 82 yards), though he was sacked three times.
The Green Bay Packers couldn’t run the ball at all against one of the NFL’s stoutest defenses.
But in the closest thing the Packers will have to a dress rehearsal for their regular-season opener in just over two weeks, they played the kind of defense they’re going to need for a successful season and got further proof that third-round draft pick James Jones has upgraded their receiving corps and can produce against anybody.
Jones had six catches and the Packers held Jacksonville to only 97 total yards in the first half of a 21-13 loss to to the Jaguars in front of a crowd of 69,268 at Lambeau Field in the Bishop’s Charities Game on Thursday night.
The Packers, who dropped to 2-1 in the exhibition season, certainly didn’t produce anything close a balanced offense against Jacksonville, which last season finished only 8-8 but had the No. 2 in the NFL in yards allowed, fourth in points allowed, and fourth in both yards allowed per game and yards allowed per carry.
Rookie halfback Brandon Jackson had few openings going against Jacksonville’s starters in the first half and finished with eight carries for only 10 yards, with a long run of only four yards. Allowing that the Packers were facing what probably will be one of the best defenses in the league this year, coach Mike McCarthy nevertheless was looking for more from a run game that struggled last year in his rookie season as coach.
However, the Packers, in part because they appear to have a solid top three in their receiving corps, moved the ball through the air – quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers were a combined 19-for-27 for 201 yards passing ain the first half against the Jaguars’ starters. Favre, who has had an OK exhibition season, was 14-for-20 for 130 yards in his four series of play, including taking the offense on a 76-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard chip-shot field goal by Dave Rayner with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
Rodgers, in the meantime, came through in his first appearance against a starting defense in the exhibition season and led a 73-yard touchdown drive in the final 3:30 of the half, during which he went 5-for-7 passing for 71 yards.
But the standout of the night was Jones, who as he has done all training camp continued to simply get open and make plays. Jones finished the first half with six catches for 80 yards, including three receptions from Rodgers on three straight plays immediately after Donald Driver was knocked out of the game because of an injury to his right foot.
Rodgers had one major blemish, a fumble after a 14-yard catch on a post route. If Jones had been able to break cornerback Rashean Mathis’ tackle on a all-out blitz on the play, he would have scored a 68-yard touchdown. But Mathis wrapped one arm around Jones and punched the ball out from behind with his other hand, and Jacksonville recovered.
Jones also was wide open for a four-yard touchdown pass from Favre on a third down, but Jacksonville’s Reggie Hayward knocked down Favre’s throw at the line of scrimmage.
The Packers’ played their starters, with only a couple of changes, the entire first half and came out ahead 10-0 against the Jaguars’ starters, who played the entire half. The Packers’ full starting lineup played on offense for all but the final series of the first half, and then the only change was Rodgers for Favre. They played most of their starting defense the entire half as well, though backup linebackers Desmond Bishop in the middle, Spencer Havner on the strong side and Tracy White on the weak side replaced starters Nick Barnett, Brady Poppinga and A.J. Hawk late in the second quarter.
Jacksonville has its problems at quarterback, where starter Byron Leftwich was injured last season and is playing this season to keep his job long term. The Jaguars ran the ball better than the Packers but couldn’t score in the first half against a defense that among other things stopped third-and-one and fourth-and one runs on back-to-back plays. The night might have been different if the Jaguars gave No. 1 halfback Fred Taylor more carries, but they wanted to keep the 10th-year pro healthy and gave him only three carries for 19 yards before giving him the rest of the night off.
Regardless, his backup, Maurice Jones-Drew, averaged more than five yards a carry last season as a rookie but had only seven carries for 21 yards in Taylor’s place in the first half. Barnett was especially active and had five tackles in his two quarters of play, including , making the third-and-one stop and being in on the fourth-and-one tackle, both on carries by Jones-Drew.
Leftwich, who also played the first series on the third quarter, finished the night only 6-for-16 passing for 67 yards. The Packers didn’t sack him or get an interception, but the Packers’ front four had him under pressure several times, as his passer rating of 46.5 points in the first half reflected. Besides being in on the two short-yardage stops, Barnett had good coverage on a fourth-and-four pass on which Leftwhich overled Jones-Drew for an incompletion.
The Packers also had to be encouraged that Rodgers took his next step and moved the ball against a quality defense in his first appearance against starters this exhibition season. In that one series he was pressured several times but either avoided the rush or got the ball out quickly enough to avoid a sack. His longest pass on the drive was a 23-yarder to Jones on an out pattern when Mathis missed on his gamble to intercept the high throw.
Rodgers, who also played the Packers’ three offensive series in the third quarter, finished the night with a passer rating of 95.6 points (6-for-9 for 82 yards), though he was sacked three times.