Thoughts from the game tape

[packiowa]

I've writtten a short review of the game film every week an I might just trick some people into reading another one.

D-line: Williams and Pickett started and played most running downs. Unfortunately, Williams gets mauled on running plays. He can disengage and run down the line better than Jolly (which is probably why he started against LT) but he is not an anchor at all. I really hope he gets moved back to his 3rd down DT an replacement DE role. He's very good in that role. Jolly came in on a lot of 3rd downs in the first half and got blown up a few times, but generally was stout and got some good rushes. Cole didn't do much but oddly he played a lot in crunch time. I am disappointed that Harrell isnt at least on par with the former Iowa player.

An intersting note if you missed it. Early in the fourth quarter SD got the ball and started running left. They moved the ball successfully going left b/c Williams was at DT and KGB was at DE (Jenkins was out). After giving up about 50 yards, MM made a change. We sent in Jolly (LDE), Pickett, Cole, Williams as our front line. On the next two plays San Diego ran the ball nowhere, then threw a incomplete pass. It was a great change b/c KGB was getting killed (although he did get some good pressure on the day). It is the second time (one play in an earlier game) that Jolly got to play end.

Hawk played well. He didn't do anything really special, but he was certainly more active against the run. He actually made some good plays and that was nice to see.

Barnett is playing like the best LB in the North (even though physically he is not). Poppinga made some nice run stops in the 4th.

Bigby is a beast. Sure, he tackles way too high, but he is all over the field. He is everything that people hoped Manuel would be, plus he's good on ST.

Count me in the grop of people that thought Bush played decent. He gave up quite a few plays, but a little technique adjustment and he may have two picks. Let's see how he adjusts when other teams start throwing short balls against him.

Unsung heroes:

People are talking about a lot of guys but these ones don't get much mention.

Jon Ryan played a really good game.

Korey Hall doesn't do much on offense, ,but he flys down the field on special teams. I haven't heard his effort mentioned this year, but he is a ST demon in the making.

Crosby was great. A true weapon on kickoffs, that unusual.

[Packnut]

Hawk

I've watched the game a few times now and my take on Hawk is opposite of yours. He's non-existent out there. I counted 4 plays where he was late getting to the rb. He's not dis-engaging from blocks and he gets caught going inside way to many times. So far through 3 games, the dredded sophomore slump has him by the balls.

[packiowa]

Re: Hawk

I've watched the game a few times now and my take on Hawk is opposite of yours. He's non-existent out there. I counted 4 plays where he was late getting to the rb. He's not dis-engaging from blocks and he gets caught going inside way to many times. So far through 3 games, the dredded sophomore slump has him by the balls.

You're absolutely right that he doesn't disengage well, but for the first time Sunday, he did get off a few blocks and make some tackles. He gets lost in blocks more often than not, but Sunday was promising after his first two games. "Played well" is a bit of an overstatement, but he did flash a few times against the run. Sunday was easily his best game of the year, although he's not playing like a 5th overall pick.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Good report, packiowa.

Fox Sports Team Report

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSING OFFENSE: A -- Brett Favre wasn't as precise as he was the previous Sunday at the Giants, but the latest installment of the short passing game was more productive thanks to having a full complement of receivers for the first time this season. Donald Driver, James Jones and Greg Jennings, who overcame a nagging hamstring injury to make his belated season debut, were exceptional with their breaks off the line and more often than not getting separation from the Chargers' blanket coverage to rip off big gains after the catch on slant and crossing routes. The trio accounted for 16 of Favre's 28 completions, none bigger than Jennings beating nickel back Antonio Cromartie to the inside on a back-side slant past the midfield stripe and sprinting by his lonesome for the go-ahead, 57-yard touchdown with two minutes left. The electric play pulled Favre, who threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, into a tie with Dan Marino for the league record with 420 touchdown passes. Although Favre was sacked two times, the pass blocking was superb, particularly left tackle Chad Clifton, who won his matchup with Shawne Merriman.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D -- Brandon Jackson assured the victory with a one-yard touchdown in the final minute after a Chargers turnover, but it could be argued that Green Bay's most impressive run on another repulsive day was a two-yard keeper by Favre on a draw out of shotgun formation to pick up a first down on third-and-one in the first half. In fairness, the Packers had only 12 running plays in the game, not including a Favre kneel-down to end the game. Yet, they mustered all of 41 yards in those limited opportunities. Jackson isn't lead-back material, with only 22 yards in six carries. In fact, Ryan Grant was the featured back in some early sets. The run blocking also has to be held accountable because the holes aren't being carved out in the zone scheme.

PASS DEFENSE: C-minus -- The coaching staff picked its poison in keying in on stopping the run, so Philip Rivers had a field day in flinging the football, completing his first 15 passes to match Dan Fouts' franchise record. Tight end Antonio Gates (11 catches for 113 yards) was next to unstoppable for a multitude of defenders, especially nickel back Jarrett Bush. Rivers and previously quiet Vincent Jackson exploited a hurting Al Harris, who gave up a rare touchdown on a go route early in the game. However, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (two sacks), Aaron Kampman and Johnny Jolly generated pressure with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. Rivers ultimately caved in the face of the constant harassment, throwing off the mark to LaDainian Tomlinson over the middle for an easy pick and long return by linebacker Nick Barnett to set up Jackson's clinching touchdown.

RUSH DEFENSE: A-minus -- The Packers' crowding of the box kept Tomlinson in his early-season funk. He had little wiggle room to maneuver between the tackles and had marginal gains on the perimeter, finishing with 62 yards in 22 carries (2.8 avg.). Fourteen of Tomlinson's runs were for no more than three yards, and he had five carries for zero or negative yardage. Barnett penetrated freely up the middle. Linebacker A.J. Hawk (game-high 11 tackles) and strong safety Atari Bigby (10 tackles) also were active in pursuit. Michael Turner didn't pose any threat either in limited touches.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Green Bay's streak of producing a special-teams turnover ended at two games, but most of the units were solid. Jon Ryan bounced back from two sub-par performances to place all three of his punts inside the 20 and post a powerful net average of 43 yards, preventing speedy Darren Sproles from getting loose. Mason Crosby had three touchbacks on his booming kicks into the end zone. When he wasn't being cut off by a teammate (Bigby), Charles Woodson churned out some chunks of yardage on punt returns, averaging 10.3 yards. Tramon Williams, though, averaged but 14.8 yards on kickoff returns.

COACHING: B -- Mike McCarthy swears he hasn't lost faith in his running game, but he leaned on the pass nearly 80 percent of the time in the contest. He was rewarded for a spread-'em-out approach against San Diego's porous secondary with Favre's efficient management of the slant-and-go scheme, the receivers' holding up to their busy end of the bargain and a previously maligned line handling the Chargers' stout 3-4 front. Still, McCarthy caused many a head to be scratched when he went with an empty backfield on fourth-and-goal from the 6-inch line. The incomplete pass would have cost the Packers, who trailed 21-17 and had only one timeout left, the game had the Chargers picked up one more first down close to the two-minute warning. McCarthy owned up that he had a sideline blunder earlier in the goal-line sequence when he didn't bother challenging Jones' third-down catch that was ruled to be just short of the end zone. The defense sacrificed a lot through the air, but the decision to play more base than nickel until late in the game paid off with a swarming attack to contain Tomlinson.

[HarveyWallbangers]

packiowa, the "expert" that writes for JSO agrees with your assessment on Hawk. I had previously stated that I thought Hawk played a good game in week 3. BTW, this guy isn't usually this positive, but he even seems to be impressed.

INSIDE FOOTBALL with Eric Baranczyk: Week 3

As told to former Packer Insider columnist Cliff Christl, Eric Baranczyk, an assistant high school football coach and a former player and coach at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, offers a weekly analysis of the Green Bay Packers with a Inside Football slant.

Linebackers on Antonio Gates

I think the linebackers are better than advertised. I thought their coverage on Antonio Gates was as good as it's going to get. Unless you put a cornerback on Gates, you're not going to shut him down and even then you might not. I think his two biggest gains came against Nick Collins and Jarrett Bush. Primarily, A.J. Hawk was the one running with him and I thought that was pretty good for a linebacker. That's a tough matchup for anybody. Gates is going to catch the ball. What impresses me is that he didn't just run free. For the most part, he got tackled right away. And that's all you can ask of your linebackers. Hawk has pass responsibility, but he also has run responsibilities. So that's a tough job for a linebacker.

A.J. Hawk

That's why, despite what some people might be saying, I think Hawk is playing well. He took a bad angle or two against some run plays, but that happens early in games, especially against a back like LaDainian Tomlinson. In practice, you can simulate what a guy's speed is. But until you're out on the field and see a guy running, they're going to get one on you. And shame on you. But it didn't happen continuously during the game. I think Hawk is sure on his responsibilities. And I think they should blitz him more than Barnett. I think he's faster. Last year early in the season when Hawk blitzed, he just ran into blockers. Now, he's getting into the backfield. He's not finishing the sack. But a lot of times when you're just getting in there that's when the quarterback is throwing it up. I don't think Hawk is tapped out yet. I still think he's going to improve. They don't play him like Shawne Merriman. They don't put him on the edge and tell him to go rush the passer. They ask him to do a lot of things the Chargers don't ask Merriman to do. The Packers ask Hawk to cover backs, cover tight ends downfield and they also ask him to have primary contain on a lot of running plays. I think he's playing as good or better than he did at the end of last season.

Nick Barnett

Boy, they used Nick Barnett properly. They were blitzing on first- and second-down, making those offensive linemen work. And I thought Barnett was pretty sure tackling. It's one thing to get there; it's another thing to finish. The more I watched the tape, the more I gained an appreciation for how good that linebacking corps is. You've got Brady Poppinga going in there and taking on blocks, taking on that fullback and neutralizing him. Then, you've got Barnett coming in and cleaning up on the running back. On that whole last drive at the end, you're thinking, "Interception, interception;" that that was what they needed and then it came. That's a big-time play by Barnett. Maybe that's one more step in the right direction for those guys. They have to make big plays. In the past, I felt Barnett missed a lot of tackles. And you're still going to miss tackles when you're around the ball a lot, like he is. But I just think he has done a better job of coming to balance and making the play right there. That's maturity.

Brady Poppinga

Poppinga's forte is his physical presence. When they want to run it, he's there to jam up the hole. He's not someone you want covering a slot receiver. I just don't think his hips are good enough to turn and run with those guys. But on plays straight at him, he's pretty darn good. I wouldn't say he's as good as Wayne Simmons was when he played that spot, but I think Poppinga might be getting close. Just look at the way he takes on blockers. He blows them up.

Defensive line

That defensive line really moves well. Cullen Jenkins, for how big he is, has that first step that's very explosive, great hands. He isn't getting the sacks right now and that 290-pound tight end, Brandon Manumaleuna, blocked down and pinched him inside maybe a couple times. But Jenkins doesn't make stupid mistakes and he doesn't get out of position. He's almost always where he's supposed to be. For how big Johnny Jolly is, he moves pretty darn well. That first game, Ryan Pickett didn't show much lateral ability. But, man, he's just an anchor. Sunday, he just kept the point of attack and didn't get driven back very often. Everybody does once or twice. But he was right there and got off blocks at the right time. That whole front seven did a great job. The Packers ran a lot of stunts inside and were exiting in and out with their backers, and the Chargers' offensive line was off-balance all day. It was a good game plan. And I think KGB is really doing well in his new role. Not being on the field all the time is to his advantage, especially late in the game. When the offensive tackles are getting tired, he's still fresh. He got caught inside against the run a couple times like he always did. Maybe he's thinking he's a pass rusher and that's it now, and he got sloppy with his technique.

Al Harris and Charles Woodson

The starting cornerbacks are doing awesome on the downfield receivers. They hit that one pass to Vincent Jackson over Al Harris for a touchdown, but that was good coverage. And even Charles Woodson filled on the run. He's not a banger, but he came in and laid the wood a couple plays, too. What you want from your corners is that every pass is contested. You can't take anything away from what Phillip Rivers did in the first half. There were guys all around him and he just stood in the pocket and threw the ball. That pass Harris got beat on was just an awesome pass and a good catch. The ball was in the perfect spot. Quarterbacks are going to pass for 50, 60%, but the receivers are being contested. It's not like last year when guys were running wide open. With Harris and Woodson, the Packers can send a backer or bring the safety up. The Packers played a lot of cover two because there were a lot of second-and-long and third-and-long situations, but the Packers can do a lot of different things because of those corners. They can put that dreaded eighth man in the box or send (Atari) Bigby or blitz backers.

Atari Bigby

I thought Bigby had another nice game. I like the way he fills on the run. He steps up and makes plays. He tackles low. He doesn't come up and hit someone, and then the guy makes another two yards. He tackles them and they're done right there.

Jarrett Bush

Bush looks like another one of those: "He's what you get with a nickel back." Why isn't Will Blackmon playing? I don't think Bush is as fast and I think he gets in bad position. I think sometimes he turns his hips too soon and he's a little slow on the turn of his shoulders, and that hurts him. He over-commits.

Donald Driver

Donald Driver gets leveled and he just keeps coming back. He's like the Energizer Bunny. He doesn't stop.

Bubba Franks

Bubba Franks, hands down, is playing better than he did last year, but he has to make that catch in the end zone.

Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher

I've been harsh on Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher for their run blocking, but they had a fantastic game pass blocking. The Packers did a nice job scheming against Merriman. They ran that double tight with a double flanker, so Merriman automatically had to line up to the outside just for run support. So that meant he had to take an extra two steps to get to the quarterback. That gave Clifton a better angle. He could wait for Merriman to get to him. He didn't have to go out and get him. It pretty much eliminates the possibility of Clifton getting beat off the edge. They did that the first play of the game and ran it throughout the game. They also never had a back blocking Merriman singly. It was always a lineman, two linemen, a lineman and a back. As pass blockers, Clifton and Tauscher are a pretty darn good tandem. Tauscher doesn't have an Adonis body, but, man, he moves his feet so well. And Clifton has such long reach, it's tough to just speed rush past him. But the Packers just can't run the ball because they can't cut off backside pursuit. Pass blocking, all five of the linemen did a pretty darn good job.

Brett Favre

I don't know if Favre has more weapons in the passing game this year or if he's more focused or what - in the first game, he sprayed the ball around - but the last two games, he has been right there. He's threading the needle and just drilling throws. It's pretty impressive. Something is different there. He has James Jones now. Driver is still there. Greg Jennings is back. Bubba Franks and Donald Lee are both catching the ball. Maybe that's it.

Greg Jennings

Where did Jennings get those wheels? Holy cow! Was that a nice play! He ran away from guys at the end. Maybe he has fresher legs. Maybe with that ankle last year, you forgot that he had a little burst. But he showed flat-line speed at the end.

[Merlin]

Barnett is playing like the best LB in the North (even though physically he is not).

Not sure who else playing MLB in the North is better then Barnett right now. Go watch the Chicago/Dallas game and watch Urlacher get pushed around like a rag doll, get burned in coverage and make tackles after the second tier. Physically he is playing just fine.

[Packnut]

Re: Hawk

I've watched the game a few times now and my take on Hawk is opposite of yours. He's non-existent out there. I counted 4 plays where he was late getting to the rb. He's not dis-engaging from blocks and he gets caught going inside way to many times. So far through 3 games, the dredded sophomore slump has him by the balls.

You're absolutely right that he doesn't disengage well, but for the first time Sunday, he did get off a few blocks and make some tackles. He gets lost in blocks more often than not, but Sunday was promising after his first two games. "Played well" is a bit of an overstatement, but he did flash a few times against the run. Sunday was easily his best game of the year, although he's not playing like a 5th overall pick.

Your more than likely right. I'm harder on Hawk cause he was a 5th pick and I expected a huge jump this season. It's possible the coaches are not taking advantage of his skills right now.

[Bossman641]

Barnett is playing like the best LB in the North (even though physically he is not).

Not sure who else playing MLB in the North is better then Barnett right now. Go watch the Chicago/Dallas game and watch Urlacher get pushed around like a rag doll, get burned in coverage and make tackles after the second tier. Physically he is playing just fine.

Barnett is playing like a man possessed right now. I haven't seen Wist say anything bad about him in a long time.

[4and12to12and4]

I've always been a Barnett backer, always thought he got shit on in here for no reason. Sure, he would miss an occasional tackle, but, always around the ball. He's playing better than he ever has, and that pick Sunday was HUGE!! A lot of backers let that ball slip out of their hands. Second nice interception. Question, do we even have Abdul Hogde anymore? And why the hell aren't we playing Blackmon.

Prediction: Tramone Williams will end up scoring three touchdowns on returns this year. He has been a tackle away a couple times, and has the ability to stop on a dime, and start full speed again. He is going to be good, IMO.

[wist43]

Barnett??? Always loved him...

He's playing very well... no other way to say it. I haven't had much time to break the game down, but my initial impressions were all positive.

Whether it is b/c he is comfortable in the scheme, or he has matured, or both, he's putting it all together. My biggest complaint about Barnett has always been his instincts, namely poor reads and poor angles, but he seems to have gotten the game figured out. Hopefully it will continue.

If Barnett is playing well... surely the apocalypse will be upon us soon!!!

[Bossman641]

Barnett??? Always loved him...

He's playing very well... no other way to say it. I haven't had much time to break the game down, but my initial impressions were all positive.

Whether it is b/c he is comfortable in the scheme, or he has matured, or both, he's putting it all together. My biggest complaint about Barnett has always been his instincts, namely poor reads and poor angles, but he seems to have gotten the game figured out. Hopefully it will continue.

If Barnett is playing well... surely the apocalypse will be upon us soon!!!

Holy shit, this needs to be printed out or something.
Wist saying something good about Barnett??

[Joemailman]

Barnett??? Always loved him...

He's playing very well... no other way to say it. I haven't had much time to break the game down, but my initial impressions were all positive.

Whether it is b/c he is comfortable in the scheme, or he has matured, or both, he's putting it all together. My biggest complaint about Barnett has always been his instincts, namely poor reads and poor angles, but he seems to have gotten the game figured out. Hopefully it will continue.

If Barnett is playing well... surely the apocalypse will be upon us soon!!!

I think Winston Moss has made Barnett a different player than he was before. Probably McCarthy's best coaching hire. Barnett really should start to get serious consideration this year for the Pro Bowl.

[vince]

I think Winston Moss has made Barnett a different player than he was before. Probably McCarthy's best coaching hire. Barnett really should start to get serious consideration this year for the Pro Bowl.

Oh, Barnett can already punch his ticket to the Pro Bowl Joe.

BallHawk has already dealt with that! http://www.packerrats.com/ratchat/viewtopic.php?t=8210

[Harlan Huckleby]

And why the hell aren't we playing Blackmon.

maybe the broken thumb hurts his tackling. He probably could play, but since the dropoff is not that great, they may jsut want to let him heal.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Watching the game again, Hawk had a solid game. He covered Gates more than I remembered. More than anybody else. The fact that Gates only caught 2 of his 11 receptions on Hawk shows that he covered better than the others. Well, that and the fact they still had him on Gates a lot in the 4th quarter. He made some plays in the run game. Not perfect, but he was solid. The big plays start this week.