Aaron Rodgers is preternaturally accurate. It sure helps to have guys with amazing hands like Jennings and Finley, but his ability to pinpoint the spot where the defender can’t get to it and those back shoulder throws are phenomenal. He’s a great quarterback.
James Starks’ 17 yard TD run was nice to watch and the result of some poor tackling, but I don’t think he’s ready to share carries. He went the wrong way and made Mr. Rodgers eat a sack on one play, on another he missed a blitz pickup, and he even lined up incorrectly twice. Those kind of mistakes need to get cleaned up before I want him out there, especially considering Grant looked pretty good too.
I’m not overly concerned about the yardage the Packers gave up to Brees and the passing offense. He’s Drew Brees, and they were playing to protect a lead. I was thrilled though with their two big stops in the red zone. It seemed like just a couple years ago that I’d cringe on every 3rd and short and 4th and goal because it seemed they couldn’t stop anybody. Now with Raji, Wynn (who had a surprising good game last night), Pickett, and the linebacking crew, they have the ability to make the big stop. That is great to see.
I hope Tramon is OK. Losing him for next week wouldn’t be a problem (its Carolina), but I’d like him back for the Bears. I don’t like to see Bush out there in coverage.
I think I may have to get a new jersey and I can’t decide if I break with my tradition of going WR and getting a Rodgers jersey. Jennings or Rodgers? Jennings or Rodgers? Tough call.
I sure do like that Randall Cobb guy.
I’m not sure what was up with all the slipping and sliding, the turf is usually in very good shape. God I’d hate to be compared to Soldier Field.
It’s OK to run the ball more, Mike. It won’t kill you.
Who the hell is Randall Cobb and where did he come from? He almost had a kickoff return, punt return and receiving touchdown last night. I suspect that would have been a first.
I wouldn’t be too worried about your defense either, but I’d be really worried about your kick coverage. Sproles is a good returner, but he’s not that good.
As it was, he was the first player ever to have a receiving TD and a return TD in his first game.
He was the Packers’ second-round draft choice (end of the round, obviously), out of Kentucky. First-team All-American last year as an “all-purpose” player (played WR, QB, and returned kicks), and set the SEC record for all-purpose yards. I think that the Packers were a little surprised that he was still there at pick #64.
Interestingly, both of his scores last night were on “shouldn’t happen” plays. He ran the wrong route on his TD catch (but Rodgers figured out where he was going and threw to him anyway), and brought out a kickoff that he was apparently under instructions to down (given how deep it was).
I hope the league takes note. There is nothing wrong with bringing kicks out of the endzone, especially now that it’s more or less the only way to return one. Starting a drive from your 15 versus your 20 makes little difference, but starting it at the 40 instead of the 20 can make a huge difference.
If week one is any indication, it’s going to be a tough battle for the division crown this year.
The Packers offense looked dangerous in their victory over the Saints, the Bears steamrolled the Falcons, the Lions went into Tampa and completely outplayed them (before almost letting them come back), and the Vikings kept it competitive against San Diego.
Those opponents (NO, ATL, TB, SD) had a combined record of 43-21 last year.
It was a nice showing by the NFC North. Going 3-0 against the vaunted NFC South was nice. After having both teams in the NFC Championship last year and a good first week, it looks like the NFC North may be a very good division.
Which sucks for the Packers. The Vikings didn’t impress me (26 yards total yards in the second half is hard to be impressed with), but the Lions looked tough against the Bucs (although Best’s ypc remains poor), and the Bears with Captain Screen Pass had a great win against the Falcons.
Occasionally, the NFL’s blackout rule is okay with me. Like when your team lets Detroit score its first meaningful road win since… I don’t know, probably before I was born.
Packers over the Saints: Strong game by the Pack. Defense was a little soft, but came up big in key situations.
Bears over the Falcons: Excellent all around game and showing a) last year wasn’t a fluke; and 2) The Falcons have issues
Lions over the Bucs: Nice road win for the Lions to open the season. They lack a little killer instinct, letting the Bucs back in it, but good win nonetheless.
VIkes lose to the Chargers: Clearly the refs favored the Chargers, who also got all the lucky bounces. But in reality not all that impressed. Their offense leaves a lot to be desired.
Not so sure about the Falcons having issues. I think the Bears just made things happen. The Falcons did run the ball well and Matt Ryan still had a big passing day. Their defense struggled a bit but they managed to pressure Cutler occasionally. Really, it’s the turnovers that killed them and I’m not sure that’s a systemic thing. That’s more a factor of the Bears just being really good at creating them and having a really strong pass rush.
One, condolences to Brian Urlacher and family on the loss of his mother this week.
Two, Dio has been banned, so we need to find another Viking fan to take up the slack. And no, over the top hatred of the Packers, whining about officiating in every game, and a reluctance to deal with actual facts and statistics are NOT required.
