Packers 42 - Saints 34. The opening game of the 2011 NFL season was nothing short of a thriller. In fact, it came down to the last play of the game where the Packers' worn out defense made a crucial stop on the goal line to bring home the victory and start the season off 1-0. There were a lot of positives in the game, and a few negatives. Here's my take:
THINGS I LIKED-
Randall Cobb - Easily the biggest surprise of the game, the rookie WR out of Kentucky dazzled us all with his 2 touchdown performance. He took in a 35 yard catch and run on a slant (which he admitted after the game was a mistake in that he ran the wrong route) and brought back the first kick return TD for the Packers in over 10 years from 108 yards deep (which he admitted after the game, by team rules, he should have knelt). In spite of these 2 "mistakes", Cobb proved to be another valuable weapon in the arsenal that is the Packers' potent offense.
Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, throwing 3 touchdowns in the first quarter. Granted, he slowed down after that and missed a few throws. But all in all, Rodgers looked sharp and is poised for a great season.
JerMichael Finley - Finley was not as involved as I anticipated he would be, and McCarthy could be easing him back in due to his minor injuries. But when he was on the field, he was impossible for the saints to cover. There is no team in the league that can cover the Packers' receiving corps.
Offensive Line - I will admit that I was concerned about the line going into the season because of the issues I noticed in the pre-season. Even though they gave up a few sacks, I thought that overall they did a pretty good job of protecting Rodgers and opening up running lanes. I believe that they will continue to improve going forward.
Running Backs - It was hard to determine who was the better RB last night. Grant started off the game well, and just when it seemed like he was the sure fire starter, James Starks took over and looked even better. I think that this will cause problems for opposing defenses knowing that they can't just try to cover the pass anymore and will have to deal with the Packers' in 2 different dimensions.
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE-
Missed Tackles - I don't have the exact number, but I'm guessing it was somewhere in the teens. There were several occasions where the defense looked like they were going to make a stop, they were in position, and then bounced off of the ball carrier. This is actually the reason why Tramon Williams is now injured. If AJ Hawk makes the tackle, Tramon is still healthy...This will need to be improved upon if the Packers are going to be successful this year.
Tramon Williams' Injury - The worst part about this is that it could have been completely avoided. We do not know how serious it is yet, but it could potentially have a big impact on the season. Jarrett Bush is a decent CB, but is a significant drop off from Williams. We will keep our fingers crossed that Tramon will be back on the field soon.
3rd Downs - It seemed the defense could not get off the field on 3rd downs. They either missed a tackle or let a receiver get wide open. Granted the saints offense is good and Brees is an elite QB, but elite defenses need to be able to make stops more often than the Packers did last night.
There you have it. My thoughts. It was a great win for the Packers and all-in-all I think the things I didn't like are fixable and will be addressed and improved upon in the coming weeks. For now I am going to enjoy being 1-0 and watching football the rest of the weekend! GO PACK!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment