Green Bay Wins: “I Thought It Was OK” » Brats & Beer

August 23, 2008
posted under: Packers, Post-game, Pre-season

That’s how Ted Thompson summed up the Packers performance last night after beating the Denver Broncos on the road 27-24, and I find myself in agreement: The good and bad elements of the third pre-season game closely offset one another, leaving me feeling lukewarm about the team as a whole.

The #1 offense was vastly improved over last week’s outing in San Francisco, with Aaron Rodgers successfully bouncing back to post a 118.4 rating in the first half and part of the third quarter. He threw one touchdown pass, hitting Donald Driver from 10 yards out, and took the ball himself across the goal line on a sneak play to end the first possession of the third quarter. Despite the fiasco last week, he again looked cool and poised for the most part, though I have to agree with brother Andy at the packergeeks that Rodgers is maybe a little too focused on getting rid of the ball quickly. Hopefully with more game experience he’ll take that extra second to find his second option.

The #1 defense, one the other hand, left a stinking pile in the middle of Invesco Field. (Bad puppy!) The front four got manhandled by Denver’s line, leaving huge holes for the running backs while barely getting any pressure on Jay Cutler, allowing the Broncos to score on all three of their first half possessions. That 99-yard scoring drive was the worst, with Nick Barnett missing tackles left and right. Was he thinking too much about the game check he’s going to lose on opening night?

Other random thoughts:

  • False start on Aaron Rodgers? Rookie!
  • Brian Brohm looked less than spectacular for the third outing.
  • Kregg Lumpkin probably played his way onto the roster.
  • What was going through Bob Sanders’ mind playing Tramon Williams one-on-one with Brandon Marshall? Twice?
  • Tory Humphrey had a nice catch at the beginning of the game.
  • Jermichael Finley is not ready yet to be the #2 tight end.
  • Jarrett Bush didn’t embarrass himself for once and even managed to make a couple plays. Damn! I guess that means he’ll make the team.

One final note: Big props to Bobby O’Shea at GB Booze & Broads for the link to streaming video. It was fantastic to be able to actually watch the game. I wonder how long it will take the league to shut that down?