These posts are somewhat masturbatory in nature, in that I do them to organize my own thoughts as much as for anyone else's benefit. But since some people seem to enjoy reading them, I suppose I'll keep sharing them.
Preseason has begun (well, a scrimmage today, and the first preseason game happens in Japan in a couple of hours). And like the dutiful wannabe scout, I am TiVo-ing them and watching them (TiVo's ability to rewind and slow-mo makes this SO much easier than before!).
BUFFALO BILLS v. GREEN BAY PACKERS SCRIMMAGE: 8/5
1ST TEAMERS
Bills 1st team offensive line looked terrible against the run. Packers were in the backfield constantly. Poor communication between linemen against the blitz - when Green Bay overloaded one half of the line with a blitz, protection failed to slide over to pick up the extra man. The tailback (ReShard Lee) was also in to protect, or at least check release, and let the linebacker blow right by him - though he at least flailed in the blitzer's general direction.
Willis McGahee made plays by himself, no help from the O-line. Every run was through traffic. McGahee slipped through a crowd to break a touchdown. Looks to be in fine form already. Got stuffed here and there, but never by one guy - always a swarm. At the goal line, the Pack blew up the Bills O-line left and right, and McGahee had nowhere to go, even as he tried to pull something out of his ass to make a play. Probably a frustrating day for Willis, no fault of his.
London Fletcher played the role of the Cover 2 MLB well, dropping deep and cutting off a Robert Ferguson post route.
JP Losman took extra reps, and needed them. Not a lot of velocity on JP Losman's throws. Lots of soft throws, short throws. Even ones that were on target just took an hour and a half to get to the receiver, leaving little chance for YAC. On other throws, the Pack defenders jumped on balls and nearly picked them off. Made a dumb mistake in the shotgun of turning and yelling at a player, and missing the snap. Did show the ability to roll out and run, but showed absolutely nothing in the passing game. Could have run in a touchdown on a rollout (no one between him and the endzone) but overthrew a big target at the back of the endzone instead.
Green Bay secondary was very passive and allowed 3rd down conversions. Even with Losman's weak throws on the short-and-medium routes, the Packers couldn't get to the ball in time to make a play on the throw often enough (though they did get on some). Ahmad Carroll got away with some illegal downfield contact, but the refs let it go for the scrimmage. Carroll also got a face-full of McGahee straight-arm later.
Favre was off. The pass velocity's still there, but many throws went high and a number of passes could've been picked. Much of that had to do with the O-line though. Later in practice, though, he played the goal-line offense and hit everything.
Javon Walker had very few touches. He was flagged for offensive pass interference on a jump ball in the endzone - and still didn't come down with the ball.
TE Ben Steele, filling in for holdout Bubba Franks, dropped a high pass that he should've been able to pull in. Made up for it later with a diving corner fade catch for a TD on goal-line offense. Caught another TD pass on a play-action pass where he came across the formation on a square-in. Steele is a big target that the Packers need to be productive, as Franks may or may not be on the team.
FB William Henderson played a TE/H-Back position on goal-line offense and was able to catch the ball - really the only Packer that looked sure-handed.
The Pack's new look offensive line had a bad 1st outing. Grey Ruegamer and Atlas Herrion played with the 1st team line at the OG positions and were outmatched. C Mike Flanagan blew a protection where the MLB dropped down to blitz from the NT spot. Flanagan got a hand on the MLB and then proceeded to help double-team a DT, letting the MLB get to Favre before Favre could even finish a 3-step drop. Neither Matt O'Dwyer nor Adrian Klemm were seen on the field - O'Dwyer was interviewed on the sidelines, in jersey but no pads. Didn't see Klemm. If the performance of the two fill-in guards is any indication, the Pack need those two veteran guards to get back in the lineup as soon as possible.
2ND & 3RD TEAMERS
Pack #2 RB Najeh Davenport ran with quickness. Bills CB Terrance McGee, however, made a great stand-up tackle of Davenport in a heads-up open field hit. Davenport should steamroll him.
The second team Packers O-line looked as sh*tty as the first. Actually, more so. On one play-action pass, Rodgers was "sacked" before he could even finish the play-action dropback. Indeed, Rodgers was sacked 3 times in a series of about 10 plays, none of which Rodgers could have done anything about.
Aaron Rodgers threw the ball with good velocity at times, and was accurate all session. Held the ball very high, almost up to his ear at times (obviously, they're trying to coax his mechanics away from sidearm throwing). Looked like twice the quarterback that JP Losman did. Did mistakingly throw the ball at the feet of a lineman when trying to throw the ball away (he was out of the pocket, but the pass was illegal because it hit the lineman).
Lots of drops from the Packers 2nd team receivers, like Chatman and Bragg. Rodgers put the ball in each guy's hands though. Chatman just had alligator arms going over the middle. Chatman made up for it later with a TD on goal-line offense working in the slot with the 1st teamers.
#2 halfback ReShard Lee got nothing on the ground, but didn't have much opportunity to, thanks to a swarm of Packers. However, Shaud Williams was able to make something happen with a couple of runs. He showed speed that Lee didn't. Lee did punch in a goal-line TD.
Kelly Holcomb played QB with the Bills' 2nd team. Was right on the money with his first throw to bug reserve TE Ryan Neufeld, who took the ball for 29 yards, down to the 1 yard line. His next throw went to ReShard Lee over the middle for about 10 yards. His next was a deep corner on play-action to Drew Haddad for about 35 yards. He only got 3 throws in his time, but connected perfectly on each.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Packers kick coverage looked poor.
The young punter, B.J. Sander, blasted the hell out of the ball. On a kick meant to go high and land short (because of a short field), the ball hung in the air long enough for one to go make a sandwich. Who doesn't love a 6'4", 217 pound punter?
3 STARS (yes, I know this isn't hockey):
1. Willis McGahee (RB, Bills)
2. Aaron Rodgers (QB, Packers)
3. Kelly Holcomb (QB, Bills)
Honorable mentions: Bills LB London Fletcher, Pack LB Ray Thompson, and Pack TE Ben Steele
3 LOSERS:
1. JP Losman (QB, Bills)
2. The Packers interior O-line (Grey Ruegamer, Atlas Herrion, Mike Flanagan)
3. The entire Bills O-line
Dishonorable mentions: The rest of the Packers O-line, most Packers receivers excluding Donald Driver, and Pack DB Ahmad Carroll
EDITED to make it a bit shorter - I may have to make things a bit more brief next time, eh?
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