Game thread packers- colts

[hoosier]

Burnett did well to catch the ball but I'm not sure that he was playing the coverage correctly. I think he was supposed to take the slot receiver, Austin Collie, instead of jumping Garcon's route. If Manning had seen how open Collie was, he had an easy 6 and Burnett is looking like a total rookie.

I am not sure either but it is one of the plays I want to look at again on my DVR. It did look like the cover rolled to that side of the field presnap with Burnett moving up to jam the slot and jump the WR.

Let us know after you have a look. When I saw the replay I didn't see coverage rolling but it also wasn't totally clear what the LCB (Woodson?) was doing. If the LCB was dropping into a deep zone then maybe Burnett didn't blow his assignment. The replay on nfl.com does not shed any light.

[red]

Burnett did well to catch the ball but I'm not sure that he was playing the coverage correctly. I think he was supposed to take the slot receiver, Austin Collie, instead of jumping Garcon's route. If Manning had seen how open Collie was, he had an easy 6 and Burnett is looking like a total rookie.

I am not sure either but it is one of the plays I want to look at again on my DVR. It did look like the cover rolled to that side of the field presnap with Burnett moving up to jam the slot and jump the WR.

Maybe I have the rose colored glasses on but I thought Burnett just read his eyes...if THAT is true Look the F out!

i saw what you saw

on the replay it looked like burnett was watching manning. i saw it, sniffed it out and made a great play

[Cheesehead Craig]

Great quote by Colts HC Jim Caldwell "It wasn't 59 points against our starters, it was 59 points overall."

You are correct Jim, it was 38-17 vs your starters when you pulled them... and our backups scored 10 of those.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Burnett - MUCH better in this game than the first two. Nice to see the progress. Still missed a tackle or two, but the range was impressive. Hoosier stated that he thought Burnett played the wrong coverage, but I don't think so. It was a zone play. He had the short left zone. He covered the slot guy briefly when he was in his zone, but made an adept play breaking back out.

Punter job - I've felt for awhile that Masthay would win the job--mainly because he's much better holder. I think this game separated them. He even showed that he could kickoff, if need be.

Underwood - Can't say he did good or bad. I didn't see him make any plays but I also don't remember him giving up much. Seems like Manning didn't throw his way much. Tramon Williams actually had the roughest game amongst our corners. Reggie Wayne is pretty good though.

Neal - He's impressed me since the first game. I think we got a player there. Like Nick Collins, he was considered a second round reach.

Zombo - Generally, doesn't do much, but has a knack for making big plays--which is a good sign in a young player. Of course, Desmond Bishop used to make big plays in the preseason also. Zombo reminds me a bit of Keith McKenzie. No name that catches your eye in the preseason by making big plays.

Flynn - He's a solid player. I guess people can stop making fun of the Brohm pick because I think the Flynn picked redeemed it. I don't know if he'll be a good starter in the NFL eventually, but he has a long career as a solid backup at minimum.

Shields - Gave up a couple of plays, but also was around the ball a lot. Three pass deflections and an interception. Solid work.

Rodgers - Actually had an average game for him, but the kid has confidence. Even in games where he's off a bit, he seems to light it up at some point in the game.

It's preseason, and the game got out of hand in the second half when the subs were in, but overall it was a solid performance. Hard to judge the defense at this point. They took a look at a lot of players, have some injuries, and aren't blitzing much.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Some thoughts:

I thought BJacks blocking was excellent, I also thought he ran it pretty well up until the point he put it on the ground.

I'm not nearly as talented as watching players off the ball, so thanks for the insight to those of you who do.

From what I could tell Raji was a solid contributor.

I really HATE the officials positioning. It completely interferes with the flow of the game. I got sick of the announcers going on and on about it, but the officials should not hinder the game. An offense should be able to operate on its own terms and snap the ball at any point during the play clock. Put a helmet of sort on the official and possible some light pads and call it good.

Grant was running as hard as I've ever seen him run.

It seemed like the o-line and second string o-line gave really solid pass protection, but didn't open up a lot on the run.

I saw Quinn Johnson with at least one nice block.

Is it Nelson or Jones who is number 3?

Harris to Williams is a big fall off.

But for you who break down games better than I, how did Quinn Johnson, Harrell and Raji play?

[pack4to84]

Underwood was at fault for the first TD by the Colts. He was suppose to reroute the WR or bump him off his route so the S could get over top. Instead Underwood did nothing not even a flinch to touch the WR.

On the play that Burnett got the INT he was suppose to bump or reroute the WR. Guess what he did exactly that. That was a great call by Dom. That Defense play was design to take that route away and Manning didn't see it. So Burnett disguised it correctly.

[red]

Is it Nelson or Jones who is number 3?

jones, i think. at least that's what it looks like during the games. jones has been getting a lot of looks this preseason

[RashanGary]

I used to argue Jones was a comparable receiver to Jordy Nelson, both solid #2 type guys. Many claim Nelson is the clear better player.

I'm changing that stance. I think Jones is the better player.

[sharpe1027]

Underwood was at fault for the first TD by the Colts. He was suppose to reroute the WR or bump him off his route so the S could get over top. Instead Underwood did nothing not even a flinch to touch the WR.

Maybe, but I doubt Collins would have been there absent the WR being knocked to the ground. He wasn't very close.

Personally I think the biggest problem was pobbably that they had not even called the defense yet. You could see Collins calling out a instructions right as the ball was snapped.

[mission]

I've never put Nelson ahead of Jones. Nelson is too straight line.

Jones is just going to make more plays.

Haven't chimed in a lot this thread but I think Mike Neal looked like a beast last night and Shields should make more plays on those near-misses as he gets used to the speed of the game and his overall 'feel' on the field. He definitely is showing more than Bush, even with the completions around him. He's close, he can be good some day. If we're going to have some mistakes anyway, I'd much rather them be with personnel that have the ability to make up for it with turnovers.

Where's CJ Wilson been? Have heard nothing about him. Definite PS material IMO. I think 91 makes this team even with the bad stretch of plays that TPB described.

I don't think Zombo is as good or as bad as the differing opinions think. He has a motor and definitely doesn't stop, looks good in his drops and makes immediate break on the ball for short gain tackles. Looked a lot more smooth in zone coverage than AK ever did. Doesn't quite have the bulk that I'd like to see but he'll probably make the team and he's earned it. Don't think he can touch a healthy Jones at this point in his career.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I thought BJacks blocking was excellent, I also thought he ran it pretty well up until the point he put it on the ground.

On the TD pass to Finley, BJack helped block 2 different rushers.

I thought he ran well also. The fumble was unfortunate but certainly hasn't been an issue with him in the past.

[Noodle]

I was impressed with the way A-Rod overcame what I viewed as a shaky start. He wasn't very sharp or accurate with number of his first throws, but he hung in there and obviously closed out the half with some pretty stellar play.

Sort of like the Ariz game, where he started slow but then played lights out. That's a great quality to have. With a lot of other QBs, how they start is how they finish. With our guy, a few errant throws at the beginning are no big deal.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Jones vs. Nelson. We'll see. I'm guessing they'll play a comparable number of snaps during the regular season. But knowing that (e.g. it doesn't really matter who is labeled #3 or #4) the coaches are going to list Jones as the #3 because he's the incumbent and he also seems like a player that would be more likely to get bent out of shape if he were "demoted". (Remember this is the guy that has grumbled when he hasn't gotten the ball--whereas Nelson just goes about his business.) I must say that Jones looks faster this year. Different receivers that give you different things, but I'll be surprised if they don't have a similar number of reps. I'm thinking who is designated #3 and who is designeated #4 is pretty much meaningless. It's like designating who is #1 and who is #2 between Jennings and Driver.

[mission]

Jones vs. Nelson. We'll see. I'm guessing they'll play a comparable number of snaps during the regular season. But knowing that (e.g. it doesn't really matter who is labeled #3 or #4) the coaches are going to list Jones as the #3 because he's the incumbent and he also seems like a player that would be more likely to get bent out of shape if he were "demoted". (Remember this is the guy that has grumbled when he hasn't gotten the ball--whereas Nelson just goes about his business.) I must say that Jones looks faster this year. Different receivers that give you different things, but I'll be surprised if they don't have a similar number of reps. I'm thinking who is designated #3 and who is designeated #4 is pretty much meaningless. It's like designating who is #1 and who is #2 between Jennings and Driver.

This just tells me Jones has the right mentality to be a playmaker in this league. Jordy is a happy-to-be-here kinda guy and that's good, teams need these guys too. Fire, passion and a little 'fuck you' go along way in being at the top of what you do. I think Jones and Jennings will be big for ARod over the next 5+ years.

Speaking of 'fuck you', you guys might like this song. Haven't heard it until yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc

(not work safe but a very pleasant, creative song. the vid is cool too)

[Packers4Ever]

Oh great. Mighty Manning must need an Ego boost, playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers.

Bet the plane was quiet as a tomb on the ride home, :P

Ol' Manning got his clock cleaned, but good !!! AR outfoxed

him almost all night.

So IT CAN BE DONE !!