Packer Tracker- Week 2

Packer Tracker- Week 2-

Those of you that know me know I am an avowed Green Bay Packers fanatic. Even though I became a fan because of Brett Favre (we all know how that one ended), his departure has only further cemented my unwavering allegiance to the Green and Gold. Last week, I brought you my thoughts on the Packers’ strong Week 1 victory against the Chicago Bears. Now, the next installment of my weekly Green Bay grades for the 2009 NFL season (I apologize for the late post; I was down at Duke for homecoming this past weekend).

Offense:

Quarterbacks: B-. Here we go again. Thrown around last week like a rag doll, Aaron Rodgers had all week to go over protection schemes with the coaches and work on getting rid of the ball quicker so he didn’t continue to sustain such big hits. Did he? Sure didn’t look like it on Sunday. Rodgers consistently failed to throw the ball away or check it down when pressured which led to five, count ’em, five sacks by Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom. Even if Antwan Odom is the next Michael Strahan (and he did have two sacks in Week 1 against Denver), he should never even sniff five sacks in a single game. Rodgers’ numbers were respectable in the end (21/39, 261 yds, 1 TD) but he was the victim of the inability of the defense to get off the field late and sacks put him in too many third and fourth and long situations towards the end of the game. Valiant effort on the last drive before the dubious Greg Jennings false start ended the game, but couldn’t have been expected to win the game in that situation.

Running Backs: C. OK, I’m willing to put some of the blame for this grade on the coaches. Only 14 carries? Really? Rodgers was getting eaten alive whenever he dropped back and the coaching staff made no attempt to assert the running game whatsoever. Halfback Ryan Grant had 39 of his 46 yards in the first half. Keep in mind that this game was tied at 21 at halftime. Grant didn’t have any runs over eight yards, but he wasn’t exactly given the opportunity for any explosive plays. Coaching aside, Grant is entirely responsible for what may have been the play that swung the game for the Bengals: on first and ten from the Cincinnati 40 early in the third quarter, Grant caught a short pass from Rodgers, turned upfield, and promptly fumbled the ball. The Bengals recovered. The Packers never did.

Wide Receivers: C+. Greg Jennings’ stat line: 0 receptions, 0 yards. That is absolutely inexcusable for one of the top receivers in football. There have been games in the past in which Jennings hasn’t found his groove and the Packers have used their depth at the position to compensate, but even Donald Driver’s 99 yards couldn’t help the Pack in this one. Last I checked, the Bengals secondary isn’t exactly made up of world beaters (especially Roy Williams, one of the worst cover safeties in football) and even with the significant pass rush, the receivers should have found ways to get open on quick slants, bubble screens and the like as the game progressed.

Tight Ends: B-. Welcome to the team, Jermichael Finley. You finally managed to disengage from blocking duties long enough to catch a few passes (although the alternative may have been better). You and Donald Lee tied for second on the team with four receptions each and even Spencer Havner had a 21-yard catch. However, the pendulum swung too much towards receiving this week as there should have been more max protects and double tight sets to provide more help for Rodgers or at least disguise the blocking schemes. Next week, let’s try to find a happy medium.

Offensive Line: F-. A couple more performances like this and I’m gonna need a whole new rating system. Did I mention Antwan Odom had five sacks? I did? Good. Well let me mention it again. FIVE SACKS. Last week it was the right side of the line, this week it was the left. Even before tackle Chad Clifton went out with an injury he didn’t look like he could contend with the footwork of the powerful Odom and when guard Darren Colledge shifted over the real bloodbath began. When GM Ted Thompson made the choice to keep high priced veteran Scott Wells as a backup he thought the decision would mitigate the impact of an injury to any starting offensive lineman. So far, he thought wrong. Rodgers was sacked six times in all and hit 10 more, and four of those sacks came after Clifton’s injury (all by Odom). Through two weeks the O-line is easily the biggest weakness on the team.

Defense:

Defensive Line: B-. Well Cedric Benson certainly didn’t look like this when he was in Chicago. After a terrific game by the D-line last week in limiting super soph Matt Forte to 55 yards Benson came in and pounded the ball all day long. Is this the same Bengals offensive line that was declared dead when it lost presumptive starter at left tackle Andre Smith for the year in the preseason? Benson rushed for 141 yards on the day, nearly double his output of the previous week. Cedric Benson. Yeesh. At least Cullen Jenkins had another sack. I sure hope rookie DT B.J. Raji plays well in his first game action next week (if they finally activate him…).

Linebackers: B-. Did I mention that Cedric Benson had 141 yards? Remember, in the 3-4, the line is supposed to be there to block so the linebackers can fly around and make plays. There was one play in particular that really got to me on the tackling front. On a third and two with 7:10 left in the game, Benson broke three tackles on his way to a crucial first down. The ’backers brought some good pressure at times (especially OLB Clay Matthews), but didn’t force Palmer into enough bad throws, especially towards the end of the game. Where is Aaron Kampman through two games?

Cornerbacks: B. OK, I’ll admit that a lot of this grade goes to Charles Woodson, who continues to make his case for the best corner in the league. His two interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown) helped the Packers defense start the regular season with six interceptions through six quarters. The problem is, after halftime, the defense couldn’t get off the field. This secondary looked like feast or famine in this game and just turnovers are not going to be enough to beat the top offenses, much less the mediocre ones with quarterbacks coming off injury in Lambeau.

Safeties: D+. Awful. Awful, awful, awful. When Nick Collins got hurt in the second quarter, the wheels fell off. Collins is the team’s second best cover man and he provides much needed centerfield help in DC Dom Capers’ system that just isn’t there with Jarrett Bush, especially when he has to play opposite coverage liability Aaron Rouse. Collins is physical enough to help in the box when necessary, which is where Benson picked apart a front seven that could have used some veteran support. It’s no coincidence that Cincinnati scored 17 points after Collins went out, with two touchdowns coming through the air in the middle of the field where Collins should have been.

Special Teams:

Kicking: B. I hate this grade. I’ll admit it: I’m waiting to give Crosby a lower one. He made an ultimately inconsequential 45-yard field goal right before the Packers recovered the onside kick and tried frantically to tie the game, and even that one nearly gave me a coronary. Aside from that, I had one big problem with McCarthy that directly impacts Crosby. Three seconds left before halftime, ball on the Bengals’ 38 yard line, and McCarthy sends Crosby out to try a 55-yard field goal. Great call, no other choice, Coaching 101, right? In this situation, I would beg to differ. Crosby always seems on the edge of losing it completely and any blow to his confidence that might come from missing such a long kick (although he has the leg strength to make it) may outweigh the decision to trot him out there at this point in his career. I want to see Crosby succeed, but I’m just sayin’…

Punting: B-. Punter Jeremy Kapinos wasn’t terrible in six opportunities. No touchbacks, one kick inside the 20, and his only real mistake coming from a lack of hangtime on a late fourth quarter punt returned 32 yards that set up a crucial field goal. Quite frankly, I’d like to see better hangtime from Kapinos in general, but, if I’m given an iguana, I won’t expect milk. Is that an expression?

Return & Coverage Units: D. We didn’t return a single punt, and corner Will Blackmon’s kickoff returns were just serviceable. In fact, Jordy Nelson was better last week in spot duty against better special teams. One play in particular really brought this grade down: 9:41 left in the game, Packers down seven, Cincinnati punting from its own 18. Booming punt downed at the Packers’ 26. On the kick, John Kuhn is whistled for holding. Green Bay gets one first down (out to the 28, where they would’ve been without the penalty) then has to punt. Drives me crazy.

Coaching:

Offense: B. The offensive play calling in this game was uncreative, but to be fair the Bengals defense looked a whole lot better than anybody expected. I’m starting to believe the offensive struggles are less a product of OC Joe Philbin and McCarthys’ plays and more a result of the offensive line’s inability to create room to run and Rodgers’ absurd propensity for holding the ball. That being said, without the defensive touchdown and late field goal, this game isn’t even close.

Defense: C. I repeat: Cedric Benson? Through two games, Capers defense has looked alternately spectacular and nauseating. Some consistency next week would be nice. This defense is starting to remind me of the bend-but-don’t-break defense of Ed Donatell, which led the league with 45 takeaways in 2002 but finished 12^th in yards and points allowed and 24^th in sacks. Yes, it’s still a very young system, but with a big time contest against the Vikings in the Metrodome looming, Capers had better figure out better ways to plug gaps if he wants to contain Adrian Peterson.

Special Teams: D. I still don’t like that Crosby decision. Oh, and five special teams penalties? Really? That’s atrocious. Field position will be important for this team throughout the year as the defense continues to grow and the offense works out its early kinks, so those kinds of stupid mistakes are unacceptable.

Overall Grade: C

Bad loss. This Bengals team took everyone at 1265 Lombardi drive by surprise and stole one in Week 2. The Packers will need to bounce back to keep pace with a red-hot Minnesota team going forward, and a dominant performance in St. Louis next week would go a long way towards getting this team’s swagger back.

Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on a not-so-enjoyable contest for the Packers. Be sure to watch next week’s game at 1 P.M. Eastern Time as Green Bay travels to St. Louis to take on the Rams. As usual, I’ll be there afterwards to break it all down for you.

Jay-Z... Freemason?

To me, the video for Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” represents something all-too rare in the post-music-on-MTV age: a video that actually helps the song for which it was made. The visuals are stunning and the camerawork elevates the song from innocent baller braggadocio to dark, revolutionary anthem. However, I recently stumbled across this article, which suggests something a little more… not exactly sinister, but maybe… shall we say… complicated about the video’s symbolism. Knowing Hov, he would associate himself with a group routinely linked to some of the most influential people in history…

And we already know he considers himself a god.

You be the judge:

My opinion? If some of the rhymes this guy analyzes really do have an occult origin (especially the squared circle reference) then Jay might be even better than any of us ever thought.

Packer Tracker- Week 1

Those of you that know me know I am an avowed Green Bay Packers fanatic. Even though I became a fan because of Brett Favre (we all know how that one ended), his departure has only further cemented my unwavering allegiance to the Green and Gold. With that in mind, I present the first installment of my weekly Green Bay grades for the 2009 NFL season.

Offense:

Quarterbacks: B+. Aaron Rodgers was mediocre at best Sunday night, but that wasn’t entirely his fault (I’ll get to the offensive line in a minute). Given all he had to put up with, Rodgers did a passable job (pun intended) directing the offense and obviously came up with the play of the game when he hit Greg Jennings for a 50 yard touchdown on third and one late in the fourth quarter. I bumped his grade up for this one play as well as his ability to (finally) engineer a game-winning drive, something he couldn’t seem to do last year when the Pack lost seven games by 4 points or less.

Running Backs: B. Without Brandon Jackson (who was inactive with an ankle injury) the Packers’ backs couldn’t find much room to run against a stout Bears front seven. They didn’t get much help from the offensive line either, but the run-blocking was not as bad as the pass protection. To be fair, Ryan Grant and DeShawn Wynn only ran the ball 19 times, so they didn’t have too much of a chance to get going. And Grant did have a touchdown, even if it was a one-yarder set up by a long interception return by Tramon Williams. After Ted Thompson kept three fullbacks on the roster (much to many fans’ chagrin), the two who were active (Korey Hall and John Kuhn) didn’t look terrible, but their pass blocking left a lot to be desired. Not to mention the halfbacks could’ve used the extra pancake ability of inactive fifth-rounder Quinn Johnson…

Wide Receivers: B-. Thank goodness for Jennings’ late touchdown or the receivers may have received a failing grade. The rapport that Rodgers seemed to have developed with this group in the preseason vanished on Sunday, as the corps as a whole dropped four balls (Wynn dropped a fifth) and only caught 10. James Jones was effectively absent and Jordy Nelson, who only dropped one pass all of last season, dropped two Sunday night. Without Jennings’ TD catch, no receiver would have gone over 60 yards against a suspect Bears secondary whose best player (Charles Tillman) was playing at less than 100% after offseason back surgery.

Tight Ends: Incomplete. I found it difficult to judge the tight ends’ performance this week for one significant reason (again, I’ll get to the offensive line in a minute). Because Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley were asked to block more than they were supposed to in Joe Philbin’s new high-octane offense, it was nearly impossible to get a read on their overall performance. They were not directly responsible for a lot of the pressure that got to Rodgers, but they didn’t help matters much. On the receiving end, Lee had three catches for eight yards, or a 2.7 yard average, and Finley had only one catch for six yards: not exactly living up to the “breakout” hype he generated in camp.

Offensive Line: F. Well, it certainly was offensive, but a line? Hardly. I prefer to call it something of a rotating morse code message, a serious of spaces between dots and dashes that shifted each play to form new gaps. Maybe that’s a strained analogy, if for no other reason than it invokes communication, of which there seemed to be none on Sunday night. Allen Barbre looked like the Taylor Swift to Adewale Ogunleye’s Kanye. To say the first-time starter was a deer in the headlights would be giving him a little too much credit. He looked overmatched and certainly nothing like the reliable Mark Tauscher we Packer fans had always counted on manning the right tackle spot. Ogunleye handily beat him twice for sacks before the Packers finally shifted to help. "Allen wasn't the only one that didn't play well up front," head coach Mike McCarthy said

Defense:

Defensive Line: A-. Boy, is it good to have Cullen Jenkins back. One of the most quietly disruptive defensive players in the league missed all but four games last season with a torn pectoral muscle and quickly re-announced his presence against Chicago. Playing the nondescript end position in defensive coordinator Dom Capers new 3-4 alignment, he garnered four tackles and a sack. With first-rounder B.J. Raji out with an injury, Ryan Picket did yeoman’s work at the nose tackle position getting two stops while limiting game-changer Matt Forte to 55 yards on 25 carries (2.2 yards per carry). From the other end position, if you didn’t see this play by Johnny Jolly, well, you can thank me later.

Linebackers: B+. For the last few years, the knock on the Packers’ linebackers has been a glaring lack of big plays (primarily turnovers and sacks). Although the linebacking corps did little to dispel this criticism (aside from Brandon Chillar’s freakishly athletic sack of Bears QB Jay Cutler), it played well enough stopping the run and bringing pressure on Cutler to goad the Bears into four turnovers. It still feels strange to talk about Aaron Kampman as a linebacker, but he and rookie Clay Matthews made some nice plays in the backfield and opened things up for what was ultimately a successful defensive effort.

Cornerbacks: A. Did Charles Woodson get burned by a rookie? Yes (Bears receiver Johnny Knox caught a 68-yarder in the second quarter before Jolly’s interception). Did Al Harris get flagged for an extremely costly illegal contact penalty in the fourth quarter? Yes (even if it was completely bogus). But otherwise, Green Bay’s corners simply took this game over. They seemed totally at home in Capers’ new zone scheme after playing a lot of bump-and-run man coverage under former coordinators Bob Sanders and Jim Bates. During the preseason, Woodson in particular spoke about his ability to read the quarterback better in the new scheme and how excited he was to test it out. Although Chuck didn’t have an interception this week (he’ll get his), Tramon Williams had a pick that he almost returned for a touchdown and he should have had at least two more. With the Packers up six and about a minute left, Al Harris sealed the victory with a pick eerily reminiscent of his game-winning touchdown

Safeties: A-. Slightly lower marks for the safeties than the corners because Nick Collins was responsible for the Bears’ only touchdown when he failed to provide over-the-top coverage on Devin Hester’s third quarter touchdown catch. Immediately after the play Collins was treated for cramps, so it may not have been entirely his fault, but his lapse was the only black mark on a great day for a defense that otherwise allowed only two field goals. Rouse replaced Collins briefly and will likely start in place of an injured Atari Bigby this coming week so he must be on his game (or Capers will have to find a way to disguise him in coverage, which is not his strong suit). When Collins was not on the sideline he did have an interception, as he continues to exhibit the ballhawking nature he established last year as he pushes for a new contract.

Special Teams:

Kicking: B. I can’t give Mason Crosby more than a B after he missed a 49-yarder on the Packers’ first drive. He was inconsistent throughout the offseason and didn’t exactly inspire confidence in big situations last year. Now he has some sort of nagging abdominal injury? Why did this just come to light now? He’s had every excuse in the book recently from this latest setback to using rotating holders in the preseason. It’s time for Crosby to put up or shut up. It’s immeasurably frustrating when he misses a 49-yarder and then nails a 52-yarder with room to spare. Yeah, he added a 39-yarder to give the Pack the lead late, but he needs to be more consistent.

Punting: B. Surprisingly pleasant performance from Jeremy Kapinos. After being gifted the job in the preseason when Durant Brooks was injured, Kapinos kept getting better each week and was solid against the Bears. He could have done better on his directional kicking with three touchbacks, but he only shanked one punt and that was only because the snap before he had had a beauty negated by a holding call on Clay Matthews. He also kicked a respectable 65-yarder after the Bears got to Rodgers for a safety.

Return & Coverage Units: B+. Matthews’ penalty was unnecessary but the units were clean otherwise. The special teams’ best moment came on the opening kickoff when Jordy Nelson ran it back 46 yards for the longest return of his career. Surely they missed usual returner Will Blackmon but still fared well against a Bears team that always prides itself on good special teams play. Interesting sidenote: on Kapinos’ great punt that got called back, Jarrett Bush made an impressive play to keep the ball out of the endzone so it could be downed at the six. Sure, it didn’t count, but I’ll put it in as “extra credit.”

Coaching:

Offense: B. Philbin and McCarthy need to get the offensive line straightened out before they can open up the playbook. Rodgers’ timing was off on some long throws and I can’t fault them for buckling down as the game progressed, especially because it opened up the game-winning deep ball.

Defense: A. Capers deserves every bit of this grade. To quote my favorite football website, profootballtalk.com, “Dom Capers’ new 3-4 Packers unit has come out of the womb fully formed.” If this Packers team is going to contend for the postseason and, ultimately, the Super Bowl, Capers’ defense has to play like this every week. The only reason this game was close is because the offense couldn’t fully capitalize on its routinely good field position.

Special Teams: B. Solid but unspectacular performance for Shawn Slocum. In his first year filling Mike Stock’s shoes, he promised to bring more tenacity and use the Packers depth better, which should take a little time. The Bears were a good first test and it appears the special teams merely needs tweaking rather than restructuring.

That’s all for now, folks. Be sure to catch the Packers’ next game, 1:00 PM ET Sunday at home against the Bengals. Then, be sure to check back here next week for my breakdown. after the game. He wasn’t kidding. Two costly holding penalties by Jason Spitz and Josh Sitton wiped out first downs and a false start by Chad Clifton turned a late third and seven into a third and 12 and forced a punt. All in all, Rodgers was sacked four times and hit four more. Yikes. And to think that we have no one behind him… against the Seahawks in 2004.

Overall Grade: A-

Good, hardfought way to open up the 2009 season. Lovie Smith’s Bears have been the Packers’ bugaboo ever since the coach came to Chicago and this Packer team has high expectations. Making a franchise quarterback look silly in his first start for a division rival is always a smart way to live up to those expectations early.

Now THAT'S How You Let the Beat Build

Maybe not the next Weezy, but I'm down.

TwitterQuitter- 9/15/09

With media outlets widely reporting the demise of Twitter earlier this year, here’s a look at several people this week who may want to Twit it and quit it:

@ashsimpsonwentz: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz (of new Melrose Place and SNL fame) recently tweeted “At warped tour with husband so funny the people that think ice t is cool! Wow who defines badass this is so embarassing?!” Yup. Ashlee just dissed the OG. Coco quickly took to Twitter to defend her man and Ashlee had to reboot her account. Oops.

@draytonflorence: Even though he has now protected his tweets, Buffalo Bills cornerback Drayton Florence almost got in hot water this week for tweeting during his week one game against the New England Patriots, which the NFL has disallowed. In a decision that could lead to more loopholes in the league’s policy, the NFL has stated in-game tweeting is legal if the player is inactive and not on the sidelines. Oy. As if Ochocinco needed a loophole...

@terrymoran: After superego Kanye West surprised no one with his conduct at Sunday night’s VMAs, ABC News’ Terry Moran (temporarily pronounced Mor-ahn) tweeted that President Obama had some choice words for Yeezy. This prompted ABC to issue a statement that read “In the process of reporting on remarks by President Obama that were made during a CNBC interview, ABC News employees prematurely tweeted a portion of those remarks that turned out to be from an off-the-record portion of the interview.” Premature tweeting? He should probably get that checked out…

2.0

Whattup America (and, to those of you in Germany, "¿Que Pasa?")? I've just rolled out the new version of the site, which promises to be replete with... get this... actual posts! Isn't that exciting? Well, hold on to your chair because there's more. Instead of hamstringing myself with just writing column-esque entries, I've decided to make this a full fledged dumping ground stylish repository for whatever interesting things I find on or off the Interwebs. This means new unique segments (such as the upcoming TwitterQuitter) and everything from mixtape reviews to video links. Go crazy, folks, go crazy.