Surprises so far this year

[pittstang5]

The Packers are playing decently. There's still room for a lot of improvement, but there are two things that really stick out to me and I'm surprised by it.

1. Clay Matthews has 1 sack in 6 games. One, Uno....ONE SACK! What is up with that? He should have at least 6 by now. I know he usually gets them in waves, but only one sack so far this year is crazy. Is his groin issue still bothering him? Is he getting close and pressuring and QBs are just evading him. What's the deal?

2. Dujaun Harris hardly plays. Last year in Preseason when Dujaun Harris went down, I thought MM lost his dog. He praised and stated that he had such high hopes for Harris and had made plays just for him. Was that scrapped because of Lacy? Why? Harris is shifty and should be used more, especially for that damn stretch play MM loves to run two to three times a game. Plus, I'd love to see Harris in the screen game. Maybe the whole no huddle offense is the reason, but I think Harris needs to see the field more.

What are some other surprises?

[Bossman641]

House has been a pleasant surprise. He always showed flashes before but is consistent now.
HHCD is better quicker than I expected.
Lattimore has played pretty well.

On the flip side Brad Jones seems determined to make every game his new worst game ever.

[Patler]

Surprises for me this year:

Negative Surprises
1. Lacy - I hate to say this, but he is starting to remind me of John Brockington after his first 3 years. JB started out ripping and snorting as a runner, got the ball, made a decision, and trampled people in his path. After his third season, there was hesitation in his game. He looked for openings rather than making them without hesitation if a hole wasn't there. He still ran hard and punished would be tacklers when he could, but it wasn't the same. Lacy brings back those memories for me.

2. Both OTs - Either Bulaga is rusty, or the hip and knee injuries have taken a toll. His feet look slower than I remember. Bakhtiari hasn't shown the second season jump I hoped for. Of the two, Bakhtiari is the greater disappointment for me, because I almost expected that Bulaga might be a different player than he had been, and I really hoped for a noticeable jump from Bakhtiari. Instead, he seems to be only slightly more stout than he was last year. I hoped for more.

3. Matthews - not only is he not making as many impact plays, he seems to be having more of a negative impact than in the past. Maybe OCs are simply learning how to exploit the weaknesses in his game.

4. No role on offense for DuJuan Harris. I, too, expected MM to dredge up what he planned for him a year ago. Maybe he is saving it for later in the season. He has sometimes brought out new wrinkles for the second half of a season.

5. Not really a surprise, but disappointing none the less - Sherrod's performance; and, based solely on his preseason, Richard Rodgers making no impact as a receiver yet.



Positive Surprises
1. Dix, Adams and Linsley - so far so good. Each has been at least as much as I hoped, probably more. Pleasant surprises after the disappointments that were Sherrod, Perry, Jones and others as rookies.

2. Guion - two weeks ago I might have put him in the negative surprise category, because he was worse than I expected. The last two weeks he has been better than I really expected, with a number of positive impact plays. I expected him to be there with little good or bad to say about him.

3. Pennel and Robinson - not that either has done a lot; but each has done enough to have their names mentioned in positive commentary by broadcasters.

4. Not surprising, but pleasing none the less: Neal seeming to continue what he started last year, Perry making a positive impact in a much-reduced role, Burnett playing well, Datone Jones finding a role.

[Guiness]

Surprises for me this year:

Agree on most views, particularly Bakhtiari. I think his physical limitations are showing, his ceiling is low.

Richard Rodgers may not be showing up in the passing game, but he's brought something else unexpected - he's a very good blocker in space. I've seen him make some good blocks on the second level, or even getting to into the secondary and helping WRs get more YAC.

Perry is definitely a positive surprise. He's made a lot of his limited role, made more important by Mathews not playing up to his former level.

[Patler]

Forgot one, but that's OK because I think he deserves his own post:

Tramon Williams - I had resigned myself to the thought that the injury had changed TW permanently, and that he really needed to be phased out as soon as possible. He came on the last part of last season, but anyone can have a small sample of standout games, especially a vet who has been that good before. It has been pleasantly surprising to me to see that he has been been able to play at the level we saw at the end of last season. Not quite the Tramon of four years ago, but a better player than I thought he was now.

[Patler]

Agree on most views, particularly Bakhtiari. I think his physical limitations are showing, his ceiling is low.

Richard Rodgers may not be showing up in the passing game, but he's brought something else unexpected - he's a very good blocker in space. I've seen him make some good blocks on the second level, or even getting to into the secondary and helping WRs get more YAC.

Perry is definitely a positive surprise. He's made a lot of his limited role, made more important by Mathews not playing up to his former level.

You are absolutely right about R. Rodgers. I intended to put in opposing comments, positive and negative. I intended, but forgot to write:

"Based solely on his preseason, Richard Rodgers making a positive impact as a blocker already. In preseason, he was said to be clueless as a blocker."

[channtheman]

Surprises for me this year:

Negative Surprises
1. Lacy - I hate to say this, but he is starting to remind me of John Brockington after his first 3 years. JB started out ripping and snorting as a runner, got the ball, made a decision, and trampled people in his path. After his third season, there was hesitation in his game. He looked for openings rather than making them without hesitation if a hole wasn't there. He still ran hard and punished would be tacklers when he could, but it wasn't the same. Lacy brings back those memories for me.

My dad brings up at least one John Brockington reference per game this season. I finally asked him who that was this past Sunday. Interesting that others are thinking of Lacy in the same way.

[Guiness]

You are absolutely right about R. Rodgers. I intended to put in opposing comments, positive and negative. I intended, but forgot to write:

"Based solely on his preseason, Richard Rodgers making a positive impact as a blocker already. In preseason, he was said to be clueless as a blocker."

I would like to go back and see how he does inline - he hasn't done anything there I have noticed. It's more downfield, especially helping out the slot receivers.

[Patler]

I would like to go back and see how he does inline - he hasn't done anything there I have noticed. It's more downfield, especially helping out the slot receivers.

I can't say I have really paid a lot of attention to him at all, but it just seems that every game he does enough to earn a positive comment from the announcers about a block. Maybe it is only a play or two, and he is atrocious the rest of the time; or maybe it is only downfield and not in line; I can't say. I expected minimal contributions from him this year, but I expected none as a blockers and a few here and there as a receiver. So far, it has been just the opposite.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'd argue that Rodgers blocking has been a disappointment--especially for someone his size. He was terrible blocking in space in the preseason, but I can't say that I've watched him that closely in recent games. He's not playing nearly as much as he was early in the season--which tells me the coaches are not exactly thrilled with his play.

[mission]

I'd argue that Rodgers blocking has been a disappointment--especially for someone his size. He was terrible blocking in space in the preseason, but I can't say that I've watched him that closely in recent games. He's not playing nearly as much as he was early in the season--which tells me the coaches are not exactly thrilled with his play.

True. He only blocked three different players on Starks' first down catch on the final drive. Would have preferred he blocked four guys personally.

[Joemailman]

Rodgers has had some bad moments blocking. However, that's not unusual for a rookie TE. If his technique is unsound, he'll struggle, no matter how big he is. I expect he'll improve.

[Bossman641]

I think Rodgers is a poor inline blocker, and he might not be great in the open field but he gives effort. It's fun to see him flying into the picture looking to blast a guy or 2

[pbmax]

I think Rodgers is a poor inline blocker, and he might not be great in the open field but he gives effort. It's fun to see him flying into the picture looking to blast a guy or 2

If you watch that Spofford piece "You May Have Missed" or something like that, he did get a great chip block on Wake prior to Starks catch for a first down on the last drive. I think there is a future for his blocking.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Unfortunately, I've noticed more blocks like the one against Detroit that went for a safety. Several of the beat writers have criticized his blocking and pointed towards it being a big reason he is not getting as much playing time. Quarless has turned into an adequate blocker. I think this past week was one of the first times Rodgers got a positive blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. I don't necessarily see these as always entirely accurate, but it would jive with what I saw from Rodgers in the preseason. I was pretty unimpressed with his blocking all preseason. His size should allow him to improve though.

Week 6

Andrew Quarless (+1.0 overall, +0.9 run block) played 54 snaps compared to just 33 for Richard Rodgers (-1.2 overall, +0.2 pass block). Quarless caught the game-winner from five yards out, but other than that play, he was a non-factor in the passing game. Quarless was a plus-player in terms of run blocking though, and was able to hold some ground against a pretty athletic defensive front. Rodgers was primarily used as a pass blocker in two-tight end sets.

Week 5

Richard Rodgers (-1.2 overall, -1.2 run block) didn't record a single target and continued to struggle in run blocking. Quarless played 31 snaps to Rodgers' 18, and looked much more competent in sealing the edge on run plays. Until Rodgers shores up his deficiencies as a run blocker, he won't have a chance to showcase his athleticism as a pass catcher.

Week 4

Richard Rodgers (22 snaps) caught two passes for 52 yards, and Davante Adams added two receptions for 18 yards. Rodgers (-1.3 run block) struggled to set the edge in run blocking, but his counterpart Andrew Quarless (-0.2 run block) didn't exactly set the world on fire despite seeing twice as many snaps

Week 3

The only individual that would receive a passing grade from me on Sunday is Andrew Quarless (+2.3 overall grade, +1.4 pass grade), who ran crisp routes in the passing game, but was sub-par in run blocking and pass protection. At the other tight end spot, Richard Rodgers (-1.8 overall) was manhandled in run blocking. On the safety, Rodgers wasn't even able to slow down Jonathan Jones - if he gets any sort of block at all, Lacy probably gets around the corner and picks up four or five yards.

First Four Weeks Recap

If I told you that no tight end in NFL history has gotten off to a worse start than Richard Rodgers in his first four games, would you be surprised? Yes, mainly because it's not true. In all seriousness, though, Rodgers II hasn't gotten much going. He's a miserable -4.9 on the season (including -5.2 in run-blocking and -0.9 in receiving), but perhaps a light went on early in the Chicago game.