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. Earlier this week, I posted my belated observations on what was a disastrous second game for the Packers against a surprising Bengals team. Now, my grades for what was a bounce back win for the Packers in Week Three.
Offense:
Quarterbacks: A-. Can’t fault Aaron Rodgers too much in this one. He took it to the hapless Rams after a sluggish first quarter and never let up, finishing with 269 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps more importantly, he only took two sacks, which was pretty good considering he had taken 10 through the first two games. Big plays helped alleviate his ten incompletions. He continues to use his legs to help the Pack on the ground and avoid considerable pressure, running for 38 yards and his first touchdown on the ground. Good confidence booster for Rodgers as he prepares to face Jared Allen and the Williams twins in Minnesota next week.
Running Backs: B+. Ryan Grant chewed up clock late to put this one away and finished one yard shy of his first 100-yard game of the year. Although he didn’t get into the endzone, he logged over 20 carries for the first time this season and showed that he was fully healed from his hamstring issues of last year. John Kuhn also had a big impact on this game from the fullback position, running for the Packers’ first score and catching a TD pass from Rodgers. Now Kuhn has as many all-purpose touchdowns as Grant… a stat that should indicate something, I just don’t know what. I will say that I would’ve liked more early production from Grant- nine out of his first 12 runs went for two yards or fewer and that just can’t happen against better opponents.
Wide Receivers: B+. Gotta love the big plays- Driver and Jennings combined for three 40+ yard receptions and Jennings went over 100 yards on only two catches. Rodgers took a lot of shots deep in this game as his receivers got consistent separation from a suspect Rams secondary. The difference in the deep passing game in this one? Better protection for Rodgers. Although he holds the ball too long, Rodgers’ MO hasn’t been to take a lot of coverage sacks and the receivers have suffered. One thing the receivers can and should work on, however: yards after the catch. According to STATS LLC, Packers receivers are currently 21st in the NFL with 280 YAC. This comes after the Packers were 14th in the league in that category last year and first in 2007. YAC yardage was an important part of the Packers’ 13-3 season in 2007 and is even more crucial this year with Rodgers’ recent struggles staying upright.
Tight Ends: B. Not a great game for the tight ends. Jermichael Finley was not even targeted this week and Donald Lee had two catches for 10 yards. Did their invisibility in the passing game matter? Not really. They didn’t need to get too involved to exploit mismatches as the wide receivers had enough of those already. Solid, if unspectacular.
Offensive Line: C+. Hallelujah! A passing grade! It feels like Christmas. I can’t believe how well the offensive line played… oh, wait. It’s the Rams. And the line didn’t even play all that well. Case in point: thanks to the defense, the Pack had two red zone possessions in the first quarter. On the first, from the St. Louis 15, the line allowed the Rams to drop Rodgers for a 12-yard loss on third down and the Packers settled for a field goal. On the second, from the Rams’ 12, guard Josh Sitton had a false start that contributed to another missed opportunity and another field goal. Although the line only gave up two sacks, both came from Leonard Little on the left side. Through three games, the offensive line has been abused on the right side, the left side, and the right side again. If next week follows suit, the left side of the line will fall apart… and that just happens to be where Jared Allen plays. Oh boy.
Defense:
Defensive Line: B-. Steven Jackson had 117 yards on the ground despite the Packers stacking the box and much of that yardage is on the defensive line. The push up front against Kyle Boller was subpar as the linebackers were not free to make many plays (aside from Kampman’s forced fumble) although Cullen Jenkins did force a fumble and Johnny Jolly recovered another to give the Packers those two early redzone possessions. This defense cannot be in the bottom third of the league in run defense and certainly needs more stout play up front to shut down the seemingly indomitable Adrian Peterson next week in the Metrodome.
Linebackers: B. Still not enough big plays from the linebackers and they are as culpable for the run defense’s shortcomings as the line. I was excited to see Aaron Kampman get his first sack on the same play that forced a fumble and led to Marc Bulger’s early departure to injury but he still isn’t completely adjusted to his new outside linebacker spot. In fairness to Kampman, he should be getting more pressure from Clay Matthews on the right side, who finished this game with only one tackle and a pass defensed. Anytime Kyle Boller has room to throw two touchdowns, the front seven just isn’t doing its job.
Cornerbacks: A-. Again, the corners provide the pulse of the Packers’ defense. Charles Woodson had another pick, Al Harris had a fumble recovery, and they were not responsible for either of Boller’s two touchdowns through the air. This unit is essentially playing defense all by itself so far and continues to be assignment sure despite a lack of great pressure on opposing QBs.
Safeties: C. For the purposes of this game, I will grade OLB Brandon Chillar as a safety… which is unfortunate for the safeties, as Chillar brings the entire unit’s grade down this week. Playing several snaps in the much-ballyhooed “Big Okie” formation with Chillar at strong safety to stop the run, the defense was exploited twice for touchdowns by Rams tight end Daniel Fells when he found himself matched up on Chillar. Boller saw the mismatch in coverage against Chillar (who is normally a very good coverage player at his natural position) and lofted two perfect balls over his head to account for almost all of the Rams’ scoring. And Chillar didn’t help too much in the run game. The strangest part about Chillar’s position swap? In the week leading up to this game, the Packers cut backup safety Aaron Rouse, a physical player known for his prowess in run support and signed former Colts safety Matt Giordano, who played sparingly on special teams. Didn’t make much sense to me at the time, and makes even less now. Atari Bigby can’t get back to full strength soon enough.
Special Teams:
Kicking: B+. Just when I think I won’t have a knock on Mason Crosby for one week he shanks an extra point. Oy. To his credit, he was 3-for-3 on field goals with a long of 48 yards but I need to see consistent perfection if I’m going to start trusting him in late-game situations.
Punting: A. Wow. Kapinos downed three of his four kicks inside the 20 and averaged 50 yards a punt. Good day.
Return & Coverage Units: B-. Will Blackmon continues to return kicks well and is always a threat to break one long, although he didn’t in this game. Kudos to Johnny Jolly for blocking an early Rams field goal attempt in what was the best special teams play of the day. The reason for the low grade? Two of the Packers six penalties were on special teams. It’s starting to seem like a given that there will be a special teams penalty on any given punt or kick to the Pack, and that worries me.
Coaching:
Offense: B+. The coaches decided they were going to take shots down the field and the hits more than made up for the misses. However, the red zone penalties and poor play calling that resulted in the two early field goals worries me. Leaving eight points on the board against better teams will come back to haunt this unit. The more discipline McCarthy and OC Joe Philbin can instill in this team the better, especially an offensive line that had two more penalties this week. QB pressure aside, is a penalty-free game from the O-line too much to ask?
Defense: B+. The 3-4 got back on track this week, thanks in large part to three turnovers (two inside the Rams’ 20). Still, allowing two touchdown passes to Kyle Boller is never a good sign. I love Capers’ ability to keep offenses guessing by bringing different pressure packages and switching up personnel, but the “Big Okie” needs to be prepared for tight ends the way it wasn’t this week. To Capers’ credit, he didn’t save that package (which will surely be of use against Adrian Peterson) for the Vikings, so the defense has one game of experience with it before a true test.
Special Teams: B. The penalties kill me. This is supposed to be a deep team filled with special teams talent, but it needs more discipline. It’s hard to draw up a blocked field goal, so I can’t give the coaches any credit for Jolly’s athletic play. I’ll just give coordinator Shawn Slocum credit for a solid game against a weak opponent, no more, no less.
Overall Grade: B+
Green Bay needed this one after that loss to the Bengals. Heading into Minnesota next week, the Packers at least have a belief that they can slay the mighty dragon that is Brett Favre. This game didn’t show me much but, as they say in all sports, you gotta beat the teams you should beat if you’re gonna make it to the top.
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