AP - Packers lose preseason opener to Chargers 17-3

[woodbuck27]

Posted August 13, 2006

Packers lose preseason opener to Chargers 17-3

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO – This was hardly a memorable debut for Mike McCarthy.

No doubt the Green Bay Packers’ new coach will pick up some valuable information on his personnel after watching videotape of the Packers’ 17-3 loss to the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium.

And in the grand scheme of the 2006 season, the performance in an exhibition opener is ancient history as soon as the game ends. These games, after all, don’t count in the final standings.

Nevertheless, the Packers, especially on offense, looked ragged compared to the Chargers in McCarthy’s debut. The starting offense didn’t score in four possessions, gained only 12 yards rushing on six carries and gave up two sacks of quarterback Brett Favre, along with dropping at least two passes. The defense gave up a touchdown on its first possession. And the bench even got a second-half penalty for interfering with officials when cornerback Charles Woodson wasn’t far enough back from the sideline.

“We leave here with a sense of reality of how we started our preseason,” McCarthy said. “This isn’t about me. I know people make your debut, but it’s about where we are as a football team. And we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing, and it starts with me, I didn’t get them prepared. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of things that went wrong were self-inflicted.”

The starting offense struggled enough that quarterback Brett Favre had four possessions, including two three-and-outs. Favre did take his final drive to San Diego’s 13 early in the second quarter, but that when rookie receiver Greg Jennings dropped a short pass on fourth-and-one.

McCarthy had planned to play Favre 10 to 15 snaps, but the quarterback ended up with 19 in part because of the slow start, in part because left tackle Chad Clifton’s knee was good enough to continue playing, and in part because San Diego kept its starting defense on the field for the Packers’ fourth possession, so it provided the starting offense with quality work.

Favre finished the game with a 71.2 passer rating (5-for-10 passing for 66 yards). He had at least two passes dropped, by Jennings and halfback Najeh Davenport, and also had two high throws skip off the hands of Jennings and Donald Driver.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Favre said. “We weren’t very good – (but) we didn’t turn the ball over. We have to protect better, we have to rush the football better. I don’t know how many yards we had rushing, but it wasn’t enough.”

When backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers took over in the second quarter, he showed the improved poise and command he’s had all training camp, though he ran into some of the same problems as Favre. Rodgers completed nine of 11 passes for 124 yards but was only able to take the team to a field goal despite playing about half the game. He hit Jennings on a 47-yard pass on a go route but also threw an interception near the goal line when rookie cornerback Antonio Cromartie got position on receiver Marc Boerigter and caught Rodgers’ slightly overthrown pass.

Rodgers also was sacked three times and scrambled three other plays for 21 yards total.

“They put some pressure on me,” Rodgers said. “But I might have been running for my life last year. This year the game has slowed down for me so I was able to move around with some ease.”

The Packers’ No. 1 defense got off to a bad start in the debut of first-round draft pick A.J. Hawk, free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson, defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and new defensive coordinator Bob Sanders. San Diego hit that group for the first-possession touchdown on its way to a 14-0 halftime lead.

Philip Rivers, a third-year pro making his first start as the Chargers’ franchise quarterback, took San Diego down the field for a touchdown on its first possession despite a holding penalty on the Chargers’ first play. Rivers had a strong performance against the Packers’ – his passer rating was 113.4 points, and he completed nine of 14 passes for 114 yards and wasn’t sacked against the Packers’ starters. He played in the Chargers’ first possession of the second quarter as well, but the Packers replaced their starting defense four plays into that drive.

San Diego’s Pro Bowl tight end, Antonio Gates, burned Hawk on one big play, picking up 17 yards on a quick post pattern after splitting out to the right with Hawk covering him. Also, two plays after a touchdown was reversed because receiver Keenan McCardell failed to get both feet in bounds against cornerback Al Harris, second-year pro Vincent Jackson ran basically the same fade route against Ahmad Carroll and made a diving catch in the end zone for the 22-yard touchdown that put San Diego ahead 7-0.

After that series, Hawk made two plays of note over that time. He dropped backup tight end Brandon Manumaleuna for no gain on a swing pass on the first play of the next series, filling the hole quickly to tackle backup halfback Michael Turner for a one-yard gain on the first play of the Chargers’ third series.

Nickel cornerback Ahmad Carroll made one possession-ending play when he knocked a pass away from Jackson on a slant pattern on third down.

“It was a little rough, a little rugged,” linebacker Nick Barnett said. “I thought defensively – I don’t know, have a lot still to work on. But we have a lot of potential.”

[woodbuck27]

Rough surfing
McCarthy's exhibition debut a bust as team looks like it's stuck in sand

By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 13, 2006

San Diego - There's an old adage that any team can win any exhibition game if it wants to badly enough.



Matt Wilhelm of the Chargers flings Packers quarterback Brett Favre to the turf for a sack during the first quarter Saturday night in San Diego. Favre finished 5 for 10 for 66 yards.


Mike McCarthy made no attempt to hide his keen desire on Saturday night to at least have his starters perform well in his first game as coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Instead, the coach's front-line players played poorly on both sides of the ball and left as the Packers eventually fell, 17-3, to the San Diego Chargers before 57,777 at Qualcomm Stadium.

McCarthy was trying to become the fourth Packers coach in a row to emerge victorious in his exhibition opener. Instead, he became the first since Lindy Infante in 1988 to lose his first game.

On offense, the Packers kept their starters and Brett Favre in until the final two minutes of the first half. On defense, most of the No. 1 unit remained on the field until about the 5-minute mark of the second quarter.

San Diego not only enjoyed a 14-0 lead at intermission but also had more yards (204-89), more first downs (12-5) and far more time of possession (18 minutes, 3 seconds to 11:57).

The major deficiency on the offense was the inability to protect Favre. On Favre's seven dropbacks in the first quarter, two ended in sacks, three in knockdowns and one on a hurried incompletion due to the rush. Favre's quick 7-yard completion to Donald Driver was the only attempt in which pressure wasn't an issue.

Granted, the Chargers' 3-4 defense as coordinated by Wade Phillips is difficult to attack at any time. But with it being an exhibition game, the Packers naturally had no formal game plan and only spent portions of two practice days working against Chargers' material.

Thus, general manager Ted Thompson chose to view the results from an objective point of view.

"They're seeing things they hadn't seen," Thompson said, referring to the players on offense. "Two or three of them (pressures) were linebackers coming from the inside. We just weren't out there enough to get anything established."

On Favre's first dropback, inside linebacker Stephen Cooper came through the middle and forced an incompletion. On third and 10, Favre was able to dump the ball off to Najeh Davenport for 9 yards but was knocked down by defensive end Igor Olshansky.

On the Packers' next possession, Cooper avoided Davenport's futile blitz pickup and sacked Favre for minus-10. After being forced to burn a timeout when the call appeared late arriving, Favre was sacked for minus-10 by linebacker Matt Wilhelm, who seemed to elude tackle Mark Tauscher.

After that, McCarthy junked his base sets and tried to protect Favre with a double tight end formation. Two runs by Davenport gained 9 yards but, on third and 1, Pro Bowl nose tackle Jamal Williams defeated a block and halted Davenport for no gain.

The Chargers led the National Football League in run defense. They limited the Packers to 32 yards in 10 first-half carries.

"That's a pretty good run defense," Thompson said. "They've always been pretty good at that."

In all, Favre completed five of 10 passes for 66 yards. His passer rating was 71.2.

"We've got a long way to go," Favre said at halftime in comments distributed by the team. "We weren't very good. We didn't turn the ball over. We have to protect better. We have to rush the football better."

The Packers weren't any better on special teams. Jon Ryan's first punt hung in the air for 2.94 seconds after a low snap from Rob Davis. On the first two punts, the Packers had to rush an 11th man onto the field seconds before the snap.

"I think that was very typical of the first pre-season game," Thompson said.

Later, Favre moved the Packers from their 14 to the San Diego 14. The big play was a 28-yard completion to Robert Ferguson on a hitch-and-go route.

However, when Donald Driver couldn't make a tough catch in the back of the end zone for what would have been a 22-yard touchdown, McCarthy disdained a field goal and went for it on fourth and 2. The decision backfield when Greg Jennings dropped a pass 4 yards downfield.

The decision by McCarthy didn't surprise Thompson, who viewed it simply as an attempt to finish a drive after a rough first half.

San Diego played without five starters, including four on offense: Wide receiver Eric Parker (thumb), tackle Roman Oben (foot) and running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Lorenzo Neal, neither of whom was injured.

Still, the Chargers tore through a Green Bay defense with just one starter, safety Marquand Manuel, sidelined by injury. However, his replacement, Marviel Underwood, left with a knee injury in the first series and was replaced by rookie Tyrone Culver.

Quarterback Philip Rivers had an impressive first half with a passer rating of 111. The Packers couldn't handle wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Vincent Jackson, and the tight ends caught nine passes for 101 yards in the first half.

"I thought Rivers was really sharp and his guys made good catches," Thompson said. "I don't necessarily think it was all our fault. They beat us and played well. I don't know that's the way it would be in the regular season."

Rivers' touchdown pass covered 22 yards to Jackson, who beat nickel back Ahmad Carroll outside.

"Looked like he beat him off the line," Thompson said. "That's a pretty good player and a pretty good throw and catch. I thought we played good against the run, for the most part, until the last drive (of the half)."

The Packers gave up an 18-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to end the first half and then an 18-play, 83-yard drive for a field goal early in the third quarter.

From the Aug. 13, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

[BooHoo]

Interesting reading.

What did you think of the play of ARod?

[woodbuck27]

Pack GM Ted thompson tried putting a 'Happy Face' on the whole sitchy by pointing out the Chargers (Wade Phillips) play a 3-4 D and the Pack didn't have time to prepare.

"They're seeing things they hadn't seen," Thompson said, referring to the players on offense.

"Two or three of them (pressures) were linebackers coming from the inside. We just weren't out there enough to get anything established."

Coach M&M took the blame for the teams ill preparedness and shody play.

“We leave here with a sense of reality of how we started our preseason,” McCarthy said.

“This isn’t about me. I know people make your debut, but it’s about where we are as a football team. And we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing, and it starts with me, I didn’t get them prepared. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of things that went wrong were self-inflicted.”

As to the Packer's new 'Zone Blocking'. The team had a total of 44 yards and the bad news is... (yeah... it gets worse) 21 of those yards came on 3 Aaron Rodgers scrambles.

Najah Davenport had 6 carries for a whopping 12 yards and Samkon Gado struggled to keep up his 2.0 yards per carry average but did managed to get 6 yards on 3 carries.

Speaking of Rodgers. They say he's having a great training camp and quite frankly, he and Greg Jennings were the only two bright spots of the whole evening. Aaron was 9 for 9 at one point of the game including a beautifully timed and well arched 40+ yard bomb to Jennings along the Charger sideline. Greg did a masterful job shielding his defender and making the catch (in stride). Rodgers was sacked 3 times and was intercepted by Charger rookie Antonio Cromartie, who used every inch of his 6'2" frame to out jump and out hustle the Packer receiver.

Rodgers had this to say about his performance,

“They put some pressure on me, but I might have been running for my life last year. This year the game has slowed down for me so I was able to move around with some ease.”


The game will be replayed on the NFL Network 12 noon EST Monday. Also, the Training Camp special filmed 2 weeks ago in Green Bay will also be replayed before the game at 11 am.

[woodbuck27]

Interesting reading.

What did you think of the play of ARod?

BooHoo:

Aaron Rodgers had a good game. Has he thrown for a TD pass in the NFL to date? I should know the answer to that question, but have to research last season's Pre-season games. Frankly, till this game I saw little that recommended to me that he could start for us.

Will he start?

I believe, he will start soon.

GO PACKERS ! FAITH ! !

[woodbuck27]

Favre has no friends Ehh!?

Maybe it's time that he makes the entire OL personnel his BEST FRIEND.

Get the steaks on the BBQ Brett, otherwise your going to get seriously injured.

Anyone?

How did Hendo look?

How much do we need Bubba?

How did #61 C/G Wayne Losier and #64 Guard Siitupe Peko look Sat. night?

GO PACKERS ! FAITH !!

[woodbuck27]

First team takes beating
Defense fails to get physical at start

By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Aug. 13, 2006

San Diego - It would have been too much to ask for the Green Bay Packers defense to open the exhibition season exorcised of all its demons from a 4-12 season.

But shouldn't the defense have at least made a favorable impression on somebody?

It wasn't really the case in the exhibition opener against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday night, even with their starters facing an abbreviated Chargers offense. Just as in 2005, the Packers played soft in coverage and went long spells without producing any kind of pass rush.

With the exception of a couple hits from rookies Tyrone Culver and A.J. Hawk, the Packers were less physical than the Chargers and unprepared to handle their quick-hitting passing game.

"There were plays we should have made," cornerback Al Harris said. "That's it."

Just to make the trip that much more of a bust, they lost safety Marviel Underwood, who was having one of the best camps of any defensive back, to what appeared to be a serious right knee injury. Underwood was hurt covering a screen on San Diego's opening series and after leaving the field with the assistance of two others was carted from the sideline to the locker room.

It's possible that the Chargers were more physically ready to play because coach Mary Schottenheimer runs a far more grueling camp than Packers coach Mike McCarthy. And it could be that the absence of blitzing from defensive coordinator Bob Sanders played a role in the Packers giving up so many underneath completions.

But the fact of the matter is the Chargers rolled up 118 yards on 17 plays against the Packers' No. 1 defense, including 64 and a touchdown on San Diego's opening drive. The Chargers completed passes of 10, 17, 30, 17 and 22 yards on that opening drive, but the second 17-yarder - initially ruled a touchdown - was wiped away when instant replay showed receiver Vincent Jackson's second foot stepped out of bounds.

Jackson beat Harris on a fade route on that play, then after a Chargers false start penalty, beat cornerback Ahmad Carroll badly for a 22-yard touchdown on the exact same route. The Packers didn't match San Diego's three-receiver sets with an extra defensive back until the final play of the drive, which might have accounted for some of the breakdowns.

"Usually two teams feel themselves out on the first drive," Harris said. "But they just drove it down the field on us. They were aggressive."

The No. 1s didn't give up any more points, but they were far from impressive against a Chargers offense playing with second-year quarterback Philip Rivers under center for the first time , star running back LaDainian Tomlinson held out to protect him from injury and receiver Eric Parker and left tackle Roman Oben out with injuries.

About the best play of the half occurred when Culver, filling in for Underwood at safety, drilled receiver Kassim Osgood after he seemingly had a first down on a slant route over the middle. The ball popped out and the Chargers were forced to punt despite being in Packers territory.

Hawk also made a couple of solid hits - one on a pass in the flat to tight end Brandon Manumaleuna for no gain and another on running back Michael Turner on a blast up the middle. But he also was faked out of his socks covering all-pro tight end Antonio Gates in man-to-man coverage, giving up a 17-yard reception on the first drive.

"That was a simple mistake," Hawk said. "It turned out to be a major one. He made a great move. You can't let a guy cross the defense like that."

Carroll, meanwhile, looked to be the same mistake-prone player he was last season when he gave up the first touchdown and then committed a dumb personal foul penalty on a punt return. Carroll, apparently agitated by cornerback Drayton Florence's overaggressive block, shoved Florence in the chest right in front of the officials.

The two were called for offsetting penalties. It was unclear whether Florence was flagged first and Carroll responded or vice versa.

Carroll did come back to play solid coverage on two deep balls, both down the right sideline to Osgood. Carroll played the second one particularly well, avoiding using his hands while running step for step with Osgood.

Cornerback Jason Horton, who joined Carroll in the dime package (six defensive backs) and Culver both gave up a pair of receptions in the first half that kept the second touchdown drive going.

Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila had the Packers' only sack and defensive tackle Corey Williams forced another when Rivers began looking downfield more.

It was the only real pressure the Packers had all night as Sanders chose to blitz on only a couple of downs.
Despite the two sacks, Rivers drove the Chargers 86 yards on 18 plays at the end of the first half for a second touchdown, this one a 13-yard Turner run that safety Tra Boger could have stopped had he not taken a bad angle to the sideline. The Chargers had most of their No. 1 unit on the field for the drive and the Packers had mostly their No. 2s.

Probably the most disappointing aspect of the performance for Sanders was the inability of the defense to get off the field on third down. During the first half, the Chargers converted on 6 of 8 third downs, including five on the second touchdown drive.

Rivers completed 15 of 21 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, posting a 111 passer rating. Backup A.J. Feeley came in and completed 5 of 10 passes for 49 yards in the third quarter.


From the Aug. 13, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

[woodbuck27]

Here's Jason Wilde's take, on OUR 17-3 drubbing at the hands of a Solid team, " the Chargers " in Our first Pre-Season game:

MON., AUG 14, 2006 - 12:03 AM

Packers: Line on offensive line isn't good to start

JASON WILDE 608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com

GREEN BAY - If their offensive line struggles as severely as it did in Saturday night's 17-3 preseason-opening loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Green Bay Packers - specifically quarterback Brett Favre and the running backs - are in for a loooooong year.

"(The Chargers' front seven) put it to us, and it just kind of snowballed," straight-talking right tackle Mark Tauscher said.

"They blitzed a lot, but it wasn't like it was anything we'd never seen. We just weren't in tune, and then I think panic kind of set in."

The task now is to not let that panic grow after only one exhibition game, despite the alarming performance. For when the linemen watch their performance on film this morning before returning to practice this afternoon, they'll see little to feel good about, in run-blocking or pass protection.

"As an offensive line, you take the blame for everything because it starts and stops with us," said rookie right guard Jason Spitz, who along with rookie left guard Daryn Colledge admitted to a disappointing debut.

"It's a growing pain we have go through. We have to get better; we have to learn to communicate better and stay loose and relaxed."

Favre was under pressure on six of his 12 dropbacks, as he was sacked twice, on back-to-back plays, and also knocked down three times and hurried once. Backup Aaron Rodgers was sacked three times and ran for his life on three other occasions.

"We had the back-to-back sacks with the first team. Aaron moved around a lot," coach Mike McCarthy said.

"There was a lot of pressure. But until I see the film I can't tell you exactly what it was."

What it was, simply, was awful. Rodgers said the team went over in practice all three blitzes the Chargers used most - sending their strong safety and strongside linebacker in tandem, the middle and weak-side linebackers together and the middle and strong-side linebackers together.

comment - woodbuck27:

Unless we see alot more from OUR offence overall in regard to blocking skills, the QB's and RB's are going to get severely punished - severe injuries are inevitable. With that result - we will be fortunate to win four games this season. I'm really wondering why every time I see an isolated pic of Samkon Gado, that he looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

This is a tense, frightened man I see. I also believe he's a solid man and intelligent. Maybe he is flat out, better suited to medicine? I really hope that he can be a solid contributor to us as a RB, but he has to relax and he needs support, with alot more consistent effort blocking from the entirse Offence not just the OL. The blame can't all fall on the OL and the youth we have penceled in to start in the middle of that OL. We have evidence on this board that Wells,Colledge and Spitz didn't do all that bad Saturday night against a stiff Defense.

It's still early but we'll know more, after game three of the Pre-Season. Next up the Atlanta Falcons and another stiff test.

It's up to one man in the organization to do all he can to fix this problem if the talent isn't in place. This isn't just a wait and see after this season. We are talking men's career's - their very future in the NFL. Ted Thompson has to give his head a shake now. No more laisse faire attitude, or we'll just wait and see's are good enough for me personally. I want something more and real from Ted Thompson. within the next month.

Mr. Happy face ( as someone refers to him - I don't see that ) has to come unglued. Get real.

Work hard everyday to improve OUR team as OUR GM - that's all. It's alot more than a Draft (and a three year wait - to operate a successful team in the NFL.

Look at where we are on this team regarding quality players and their ages. OUR BEST players are one- two - three season's away from retirement and what is behind them and will they be as good ? Brett Favre - Ahman Green - Donald Driver - William Henderson - Rob Davis - Al Harrris - Charles Woodson (take all of them away and what's remaining Packer fans).

Be ever grateful that you have them today - to start the 2006 season - we HOPE.

I expect more from Ted Thompson. If we win less than 7 games in 2007 then Ted Thompson is failing as a Packer GM given the age of OUR Best.

It suddenly and magically won't get better in 2007 Packer fans. Ted Thompson has to concentrate 100% on his job as a GM and allow Mike McCarthy to be the Head Coach and install the game plans and the right players.

Is it otherwise. It will take time to discern the TRUTH.

We'll get " just there ".

It's not only on the OL that we have concerns. We are not strong at RB and at WR. There is help out there (in Ashley Lelie for sure and possibly Jerry Porter. Screw this "are they character Guy's BS.

They are solid WR's that will upgrade OUR Offense, and before we know it we may be facing one or both of them on other NFCNorth teams. That is not acceptable, given the state of OUR team at WR. We arn't broke either.

We don't look good at TE. We certainly need a healthy and dependable Bubba Franks, as Donald Lee continues to drop the ball The oft injured David Martin - come on ! Is he tuff enough? That experiment is over Packer fans.

I see this as a positive. Aaron Rodgers shows leadership in these next paragraphs from Jason Wilde's report. (woodbuck27)


BACK TO THE TEXT OF JASON WILDE's REPORT:


"We've got some young guys on the line, but we've been practicing for two weeks now, and as we get into preseason, the young guys need to step up," Rodgers said.

"We expected them to bring pressure. But it's still disappointing because we worked on those (blitzes). We weren't able to pick it up and give Brett some time, and when I was in there, I took some shots as well and had to get out of the pocket and try to make some plays."

The run game, meanwhile, went next to nowhere behind the new zone-blocking scheme. Rodgers (21 yards on three scrambles) was the team's leading rusher, while the backs combined for 23 yards on 15 attempts (1.6-yard average). Najeh Davenport (six carries, 12 yards), Samkon Gado (three carries, 6 yards), Noah Herron (three carries, 4 yards) and Arliss Beach (two carries, 1 yard) all struggled to find room to run.

"We've got to be able to establish that run game," Rodgers said. "I think that was one of the problems last year - teams would just put seven guys in the box and say, 'Run on us. We're going to be able to stop you with seven.'

"Unless we can establish that run game - and we need to these next three preseason games - they're going to load up against the pass. We do have some talented receivers, but if they're dropping seven (defenders) every time and not worried about our run game, then we're going to have a tough time throwing the ball."

Comment:

Ted Thompson has to get real and more like Daryn Colledge ( Spitz) (woodbuck27)

THE TEXT.

Why the line had so many problems will be the focus of the film session today. General manager Ted Thompson said the Chargers' 3-4 defense - as opposed to the Packers' 4-3 that Colledge and Spitz have seen throughout camp - presented problems for the two youngsters, but Colledge saw that as a cop-out.

"It wasn't anything super-duper that the Chargers did, it wasn't anything special or new that we didn't expect. We just made mental mistakes," Colledge said. "It's the first game of the year. And we've got a lot of young guys out there, a lot of rookies. I know myself, you're anxious and you're trying to do everything right and sometimes you overcomplicate the situation. You don't follow your fundamentals."

The rookies also admitted the communication on the line was poor.

"You have to play a number of reps together to get jelling," Spitz said. "It takes time."

comment:

Mark Tauscher steps up with the TRUTH. ( woodbuck27 )

Tauscher, meanwhile, theorized that everyone, himself included, was thinking too much rather than simply playing. That may have been a function of the new zone-blocking scheme, which often takes a year to take hold and is unfamiliar to everyone, despite the fact all teams do some form of it.

"Confidence is everything in this game. If you have doubts, you're not going to go full-speed," Tauscher said. "You're going to be thinking a lot of things through, and once you start thinking a lot of things through, I don't know if anything good ever happens.

"I never felt a sense of comfort on the field, and I think that's really important as far as playing offensive line, to have a real comfort level knowing where you need to get to and how you're going to get there. There's really no excuses for it. We weren't up to par."

[woodbuck27]

Bump !

[BooHoo]

Bump !

Thanks Woodbuck for the articles. It is good having articles all on one web site so I don't have to go from place to place to read them.

[woodbuck27]

Bump !

Thanks Woodbuck for the articles. It is good having articles all on one web site so I don't have to go from place to place to read them.

We are going to be in the know on this site Packer fan. It all begins with information that we can digest and comment on.

Sort through "the forest for the trees".

GO PACKERS ! HOLD THE FAITH in 2006 !!

[woodbuck27]

Taken from a reliable source and we Thank that source:

Quotes from Packer players following a 17-3 loss to "the San Diego Chargers) on Sat. 12 Aug. 2006. Our first Per-Season game.

"You can't blame it on the system. We know what we're doing. It's just having confidence in that and trusting our instincts. A few of us were second-guessing what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to do it, hesitating. You hesitate and you're going to get beat." . . . C Scott Wells

"I just don't think we let it go tonight. I think we were thinking things through. I know I was. I never felt a sense of comfort on the field. I think that's important as far as playing offensive line, having a real comfort level where you need to get to and how you're going to get there. I know I didn't feel that.We have a lot of work to do, I didn't expect it to be crisp and run smooth, but to have as many errors and breakdowns as we did is pretty disappointing." . . . RT Mark Tauscher

"I think some of the young guys may be over-thinking and (need to) just relax and let the game come to them and let the player come to them. Everybody has their own gap and when they're bringing the blitz, there's going to be a guy in every gap. Just wait for a guy to come to your gap. Sometimes I think they're oversetting and chasing the guy and letting the guy come through." . . . QB Aaron Rodgers

"We have a lot of young guys and rookies. I know you're anxious, and you're trying to do everything right and sometimes you overcomplicate the situation, and you don't follow your fundamentals and your rules. There's definitely stuff I can improve on. We're a better team than that. We have to correct those mistakes." . . . Guard Darren Colledge

[woodbuck27]

Associated Press

Published: August 14, 2006

Bears, Pack amazingly similar, awful

Sports Column: Reed Schreck

Watched the Bears on Friday night. Watched the Packers on Saturday night.

Not a whole lot of difference.

Both teams’ first strings were strung out by the opponents’ regulars.

Convincingly.

In Chicago’s case, it had to be perturbing because the foe was the 49ers — the 4-12 49ers from last year. Their quarterback, Alex Smith, who had one TD pass to go with 11 picks last season, riddled the Bears’ reputedly strong defense for 137 yards by completing 16 of 21 passes. San Francisco also rushed 38 times for 150 yards.

The Bears, built around the running game, got 29 yards on 16 carries. And their starting QB, Rex Grossman, was 3-for-11 for 47 yards in the 28-14 loss.

Green Bay’s showing against San Diego was equally unimpressive in a 17-3 setback.

The Packers allowed quarterback Philip Rivers, who hasn’t started a game, to look like an all-pro. He went 15-for-21 for 169 yards against Green Bay’s supposedly revamped defense.

The most frustrating aspect had to be Green Bay’s third-down defense. It allowed the Chargers to convert 8 of 9 chances total on two 18-play drives. The Packers’ running game basically matched the Bears’ for being boring, totaling 23 yards on 15 carries if you overlook three Aaron Rodgers scrambles for 21 yards.

Another similarity? Both teams’ backups looked great compared to the starter. Brian Griese clearly outplayed Grossman, going 6-for-7 for 134 yards and two TDs. Rodgers was 9-for-11 for 124 yards and one interception. Favre wasn’t bad — 5 of 10, 66 yards; he was just running for his life every snap. The Packers gave up five sacks on the night.

Chicago’s offensive line was without its leader, center Olin Kreutz (sick).

Green Bay’s offensive line is without anyone proven between the tackles, which accounts for 60 percent of the personnel there.

Stat of the weekend — time of possession in each game. The 49ers held a 41:34-18:26 advantage over Chicago, and San Diego 35:57-24:03 over Green Bay.

What does it all mean?

Not much.

And maybe a lot.

Right now, it looks like the two teams’ season opener Sept. 10 at Lambeau Field could be a laugher — not with one team dominating the other, just pure comedy.

Time to panic?

Hardly. Fans of each team can keep repeating that it was only a preseason game, and the first one at that.

Both teams were on the road, which can make a difference. Both teams had a few bright spots, which they’ll take.

Aside from Griese, cornerback-turned-wideout Rashied Davis (4 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD) impressed. So did rookie kick returner Devin Hester, who already gives Chicago a huge edge over the Packers on special teams.

Rookie linebacker Abdul Hodge looked solid, getting to the ball more than the more ballyhooed No. 1 pick A.J. Hawk. And the Packers might have found a punter from over the border, as Canadian Jon Ryan blasted four kicks for a 46.2-yard average.

That’s important, because Green Bay might have to punt a whole lot this season.

Maybe both teams will look better at home this weekend, Chicago against San Diego and Green Bay against Atlanta.

They both can’t look any worse.

Can they?

Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at 815-987-1381 or at rschreck@rrstar.com

Comment:

Now. Isn't that encouraging from the National press.

That's why this forum exists. Support for true Packer fans that will remain -

TRUE PACKER FANS.

GO PACKERS ! HOLD THE FAITH in 2006 !! Patience.

[woodbuck27]

Posted August 14, 2006

Just like last year, O-line starts slow

By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com

A year ago, the Buffalo Bills came to Lambeau Field for a scrimmage and tossed around the Green Bay Packers' offensive linemen like rag dolls.

It was the beginning of a 2005 season filled with struggles in the trenches for an offensive line that never found anyone to replace starting guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, who left in free agency that spring.

This year's exhibition opener looked like more of the same. Though some scouts project the San Diego Chargers' defense, especially the front seven, to be one of the top units in the AFC, they nevertheless manhandled the Packers' latest attempt to put together a competent front five.

After Saturday's 17-3 exhibition loss in San Diego, the Packers were left to try to assess whether their struggles were simply a case of a young offensive line trying to get the hang of coach Mike McCarthy's new zone-blocking scheme or a preview of another season's worth of problems protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the running backs.

"We've got some work to do," McCarthy said.

"We're just trying to get our guys as many reps as possible."

Rookie left guard Daryn Colledge had trouble in pass protection and appeared to have a few more breakdowns than fellow rookie Jason Spitz, who is projected as the starting right guard. The pair played with both the No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks and accounted for some — but not all — of the protection problems.

"I think (Colledge) had his ups and downs in the game, as did most everybody on the Packers' football team," Packers General Manager Ted Thompson said on Sunday evening after watching the film.

"I just think that's part of the growing process. We had some guys seeing things for the first time. I'm not going to make excuses because we're young. We're going to battle through it, and we've got competitive guys that want to play."

Starting right tackle Mark Tauscher — who along with left tackle Chad Clifton — is the most veteran offensive line starter, said the struggles can't be tied only to the rookies or first-year starter Scott Wells at center.

"I just don't think we let it go tonight; we were thinking things through," Tauscher said.

"I know I was. I was thinking way too many things through. I never felt a sense of comfort out on the field. That's really important playing the offensive line to have a comfort level as far as where you need to get to and how you're going to get there. From my standpoint, I didn't feel that."

In a 20-play stint, starting quarterback Brett Favre was sacked twice and hit at least three additional times. On their first two possessions, the Packers' starters totaled minus-3 yards of offense. Backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers also faced pressure at times but had a little more success moving the ball.

"We had the back-to-back sacks (of Favre) with the first team, and Aaron moved around a lot," McCarthy said. "There was a lot of pressure."

It was eerily similar to how last season began against the Bills. Both the Bills and the Chargers play a 3-4 defensive alignment, and both threw multiple blitz looks the Packers failed to pick up. In last year's scrimmage, Favre managed only 25 yards of offense in his first three series, while the three backup quarterbacks (Rodgers, Craig Nall and J.T. O'Sullivan) were sacked a combined six times.

At that time, then coach Mike Sherman claimed his offense had done little or no work in practice against blitzes. This year, however, McCarthy can't use that excuse. During the first two weeks of camp, his offense has seen plenty of blitzes in practice from defensive coordinator Bob Sanders.

"We've got to be able to pick up those blitzes," Rodgers said. "We've been able to pick up that stuff in practice, and we should be able to pick that up. If we're not picking it up, (teams are going to) keep bringing pressure.

"We've got some young guys on the line. I know this was their first try in a game-like situation, but we've been practicing for at least two weeks now. As we get into the preseason, the young guys need to start stepping up, and the veterans, we need some leadership. We'll get better. We're going to improve on the offensive line, in the passing game, in the run game. I'm not worried, but I feel like there's definitely some improvement that needs to be made."

As is the case with most preseason games, the Packers spent almost no time game planning for the Chargers. They spent part of Thursday's practice going against some of San Diego's offensive and defensive looks from a year ago.

"I think we should have done better, but I also attribute it to the first preseason game and, quite frankly, them coming at us with stuff we don't do," Thompson said. "They had success with a particular blitz, and they kept bringing it. We just didn't handle it. That happens in the preseason, and (the Chargers) were a little more aggressive than your typical preseason (opponent). Also, their (front seven) is an excellent group. That's the thing that's a little overlooked. (Chargers coach) Marty (Schottenheimer) thinks it's the best group he's ever had."

[woodbuck27]

Fixing offensive line leaks -
Packers look to plug holes after bad start

By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Aug. 13, 2006



Packers QB Brett Favre was hit five times on seven dropbacks after the offensive line was broken several times.

Story:

Either it was one of the worst cases of growing pains an offensive line could experience or the Green Bay Packers are headed for a year in which neither quarterback nor running back will be safe from the kind of pounding that prematurely ends seasons.

In the first quarter of the Packers' 17-3 exhibition loss Saturday night against San Diego, Brett Favre was hit five times on seven dropbacks, including two sacks and a knockdown on three consecutive plays.

The future Hall of Famer didn't come back at age 36 so he could take punishment like that. Nor did running back Ahman Green, who was spared the brutality of the evening because he is being brought back slowly from a ruptured thigh tendon.

"We have a lot of work to do," tackle Mark Tauscher said with resignation after the game. "I didn't expect it to be crisp and run smooth, but to have as many errors and breakdowns as we did is pretty disappointing."

Of the five starting linemen, only Tauscher and left tackle Chad Clifton return to the starting positions they held a year ago. And of the three new starters, two - guards Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz - are rookies. Throw in a completely new run-blocking system, and it's understandable that the line would need time to grow together.

But no one could have predicted five sacks and just 44 yards rushing against the Chargers.

"You can't blame it on the system," center Scott Wells said. "We know what we're doing. It's just having confidence in that and trusting our instincts. A few of us were second-guessing what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to do it, hesitating. You hesitate and you're going to get beat."

When your No. 1 offensive line gets knocked around, it's pretty much assured your backups will, too - which was the case when backup QB Aaron Rodgers came into the game. The Chargers fed the Packers a steady diet of linebacker blitzes, and the Packers offered no kind of counterpunch.

The Packers already know that with the season-ending injuries to backups Kevin Barry and Adrian Klemm, they're perilously thin on the offensive line. But they at least thought their starters were up for the task.

What they found out was that right now they're merely five guys who happen to be lining up next to one another.

"I just don't think we let it go tonight," Tauscher said. "I think we were thinking things through. I know I was.

"I never felt a sense of comfort on the field. I think that's important as far as playing offensive line, having a real comfort level where you need to get to and how you're going to get there. I know I didn't feel that."

In registering the five sacks and countless more pressures, the Chargers ran some of the 3-4 blitzes for which they're known. Though they blitzed more than the average team does in an exhibition game, they tipped it off early and ran all the usual pressures the Packers studied before the game.

On Friday, the Packers went through a 40-play walk-through in which they simulated the looks the Chargers would give them. All five of San Diego's sacks were made by linebackers, a strong indication that the line simply didn't attend to its responsibilities.

"I think some of the young guys may be over-thinking and (need to) just relax and let the game come to them and let the player come to them," Rodgers said. "Everybody has their own gap and when they're bringing the blitz, there's going to be a guy in every gap. Just wait for a guy to come to your gap. Sometimes I think they're oversetting and chasing the guy and letting the guy come through."

The linemen are learning to play a new zone-blocking system as well as with each other. But priority No. 1 should be protecting the quarterback, especially when he's the franchise, and that didn't happen Saturday night.

Coach Mike McCarthy vowed that the Packers would learn from their dismal first loss, but there's no guarantee there will be vast improvement five days from now when the Atlanta Falcons come to Lambeau Field.

"We have a lot of young guys and rookies," Colledge said. "I know you're anxious, and you're trying to do everything right and sometimes you overcomplicate the situation, and you don't follow your fundamentals and your rules. There's definitely stuff I can improve on. We're a better team than that. We have to correct those mistakes."


From the Aug. 14, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel