Exhibition Game 1
Well, we can all see that they sucked so there's really no point in complaining about:- The offensive line. Did anyone else have a flashback to the early 80's with all the 3rd and longs? 3rd and 39, Dickey drops back, he scrambles, throws over the middle to Kaufman, he's got it! ...for a 37 yeard gain. The Packers will punt.
- The defensive backs. Nice to see Terrell Buckley's presence still haunts the DBs.
- The linebackers. The mystery of Nick Barnett's high tackle numbers is revealed, ...he can't cover anyone, but he's great at tackling them after they've made the catch in front of him for a first down.
- The running backs. Najeh looks "pooped" out.
- The defensive line. When the coach said, "No pressure, it's just a pre-season game," that's not what he meant.
The only thing to add is that the offensive line is in need of emergency competency. Without an influx of different players at that position, the Packers will struggle to win four games this year.
I hope Thompson is aware that the Giants are desperate for a starting defensive tackle (maybe we can trade one for a starting o-lineman) and that Eagles center Hank Fraley wants a trade.
I'd rather focus on the positives from last night's game. And yes, there were positives. In order to see them, you have to accept the fact that this season is lost and beyond hope. Focus on next year and the year after, and suddenly things don't look so bad ...
1. McCoach can see. The first thing that jumped out to me is that he immediately challenged the three questionable plays that went against them and he was correct each time. The art of throwing a red flag when there is an obvious bad call always eluded Sherman. In fact, the Packers beat the Eagles in the 2003 playoffs if Sherman throws that red flag. So, I was happy to see that McCoach has a working set of eyes. It's a step up from last year.
2. McCoach has a brain. After just two disastrous series caused by poor blocking he changed course, ...moving Favre out of the pocket and attacking the defense from another angle. Sherman went entire games without doing that.
3. Hawk can play. Although still lost in coverage, he pursued well and tackled great. Nice to see some improvement. As a side note, Hodge took a step back and was exposed, he has big upside though. I bet they are viewing him as a good option to replace Barnett after next year rather than giving Barnett big money.
4. Rodgers rocks? Maybe. He looked like Phillip Rivers out there, tossing lasers and bombs left and right. He still needs some work, but at least he's a very good backup right now.
I don't understand why people are panicking. They never really had the potential to go .500 this year anyway. And I think they have some pieces that can help shape the future into a successful one.
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