For the second year in a row, the Green Bay Packers stumbled in their first
preseason game. At least the Packers scored last year in their preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers
because this year the Packers were shutout for first time in the preseason by the
Arizona Cardinals since August 22,
1987 when they lost 33-0 to the Washington Redskins in Madison. Although I think preseason scores are meaningless,
getting shutout is never a good thing.
Going into the preseason cornerback looked like the deepest position on the roster. With two of
the three best cornerbacks on the roster (Tramon Williams and Casey
Hayward) out due to injury, the healthy cornerbacks were carved up en
route to a 17-0 loss to the Cardinals. Here are a few thoughts on how
the Packers/Cardinals preseason game impacted The 53:
Player that
hurt his stock most - Graham Harrell: It is really hard to single out just one guy based
on how sloppy the Packers played. Certain guys that struggled, absent
injury, are going to make the roster (House and Newhouse) so let's skip
those guys. Instead let's focus on the backup quarterbacks. The
Packers gave backup quarterback Graham Harrell a ton of snaps but he struggled (12 of 19 for 76
yards, 1 interception, and 1 fumble). The third quarterback to see live
action after Aaron Rodgers and Harrell was the newly signed Vince Young as opposed to B.J. Coleman. Although Young
did not put up huge numbers through the air (1 of 3 for 7 yards), he showed some versatility
picking up a first down with his feet (2 rushes for 12 years). Coleman
looked the worst of the three backups (2 of 7 for 15 yards) in limited
action but none of the three backups had a passer rating of more than 50, which shows how much each struggled.
Depending on how Harrell and Young play the rest of the preseason, I
would keep the best of those two guys and stash Coleman on the
practice squad.
Player that helped his stock most - Tyrone Walker: Usually the
Packers keep five wide receivers on The 53. Last year the Packers bucked that trend and kept six.
Heading into camp it looked like that position was settled despite
losing mainstays Donald Driver (retired) and Greg Jennings (signed with
the Minnesota Vikings and won't stop complaining to the media about the
Packers). When healthy, the top three wide receivers in some order are
James Jones, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb. At the start of the preseason it
looked like Jeremy Ross and Jarrett Boykin would claim the last two
wide receiver roster spots. Tyrone Walker's performance against the Cardinals and
Alex Gillett's strong camp so far means that unless the Packers keep six
wide receivers, there are at least four guys competing for two roster
spots. Despite my affinity for Virginia Tech, at this point I would keep Ross and
Walker ahead of Boykin (the former Hokie) and Gillett.
Position
to watch - Offensive Tackle: When the Packers lost starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga for the season due to a torn ACL earlier this week
that put both offensive tackle spots in flux. As of right now, it
looks like left tackle is rookie 4th round pick David Bakhtiari's
spot to lose and right tackle is Marshall Newhouse's spot to lose. Newhouse was the starting left tackle last year but struggled, which is
why the Packers moved Bulaga to left tackle. Last night Newhouse got reps at both
right and left tackle. Much like last year, Newhouse struggled for
stretches giving up a sack to John Abraham. I am fine giving Bakhtiari every chance to
be the first rookie starting left tackle for the Packers since Ken
Reutegers in 1985. I just wish the Packers would give Don Barclay the
first shot to win the right tackle spot instead of Newhouse.
Final
Note: For me, the preseason sideline interviews are the most uninteresting
portions of the game. The interviewees for the Packers/Cardinals game were outside linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Jones,
tight end Jermichael Finley, and cornerback Sam Shields. With the prevalence of social
media, instead of asking football questions that are going to get canned
answers from the players, the production staffs should solicit
interesting non-football questions from viewers via Facebook and Twitter. Not only
would it increase fan interaction but it would actually make the
interviews interesting instead of just being throwaway airtime for stars.
I am
sure reviewing the game film is going to be painful for the Packers,
luckily the only injury was a sprained ankle to rookie defensive lineman Datone Jones.
Unless the Packers make any significant roster moves before their next
preseason game on the road next Saturday against the St. Louis Rams,
check back next Sunday for my review of how the Packers/Rams preseason
game impacts Building The 53.
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