[FrenchSkin]

Originally Posted by WillH

Just watched game all-22. Not keying in on anyone in particular. First impressions:

1. This defense is good. We made Rodgers Checkdown Charlie. Half way through the 1st quarter he gave up on getting down field passes because coverage was too good and the interior line destroyed the pocket. Their first TD drive was all quick passes, and the defense kept everything in front of them. If it were anyone else than Aaron Rodgers they would have made a mistake and thrown a pick or had an incomplete 3rd down pass somewhere along the way. He got back to it later in the game, but he only ever had time when he scrambled. Certainly the knee didn't help, particularly with the accuracy of throws on the run, but he was still slippery especially for the edge rushers who nearly got home several times.

2. Kerrigan & Co. was pressuring him especially early on and some of the Dline success was because Rodgers had to step up or couldn't get around the edge. Ultimately their impact was limited because he was slippery and began dinking and dunking and they didn't have time to get home. They also did their job in the run and screen game. Smith especially had a number of good tackles in the run game.

3. Ryan Anderson has something. He looks much improved and has more explosiveness and bend around the edge than I thought he was capable of. I think he will have 6+ sacks this year. He also stayed disciplined on the outside and reacted well on screens. This was a pleasant surprise.

4. Monte Nicholson on the other hand is an unpleasant surprise. He was fine in coverage. No complaints there. He's still fast and covers ground quickly and is an asset on coverage, although he didn't get tested because Rodgers couldn't get a deep ball off. The problem is he missed like 5 open field tackles. I think he's playing scared and doesn't want to reinjure his shoulders. Its not good and hopefully he'll play his way through it, but it looks like he's avoiding contact.

5. Doctson was open or had favorable position in a 1 on 1 matchup on many pass attempts, but there were a number of reasons the ball didn't go to him. Smith didn't have time in the pocket or was flushed in the opposite direction, the play was clearly designed for another player, or Smith on 3rd down took the sure 1st down with his legs. In different game situations he will get some of those targets.

6. Jay said GB had a good Dline, maybe that's true, but it was a little concerning how many 2 yard runs AP had. Very small nit to pick I know.

7. Bergstrom and Roullier looked very good in pass pro and good in run blocking. Chase looked a little lost on some second level blocks and on screens, but overall they looked impressive. Nsekhe was ok.

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Agree with everything you said.

(See KI I'm not crazy, Ryan Anderson did improve! )

I'd add a few things:

-Coverage by our ILBs is vastly improved from last year. Zach Brown might look a little less flashy in the run game, (maybe because others are making plays, plus he's battling an oblique injury) but getting rid of his coverage mistakes is a HUGE plus! (It also allows us to blitz Foster, which he's good at).

-On Norman. He's a very good, very smart and tough player. The fact that very few balls are thrown his way speaks highly of his coverage abilities, he does miss some tackles now and then but overall I like his run support and he clearly brought a new level of energy to this locker room (him and Swearinger).
I think where he can get beaten is on pure speed and when he tries to punch his receiver at the LOS too hard, he's good in press coverage but not when he tries to jam the WR.

-Smith's INT is on Reed because he stopped on his route, but that is not a very smart throw either, if you pause when he throws the ball, the CB has outside leverage on Reed, and is sitting on the route, Jordan is very unlikely getting open on this play IMHO, and the ball was thrown a bit too much outside. Had he not stopped, Reed would have been in position to batt the ball and prevent the INT, but catching it would've been a different story.

-I really don't get dropping Smith and Kerrigan into zone coverage... somebody please explain.

-The first Packers' TD clearly is on Swearinger, isn't it? WillH you saw the tape, what do you think?

-Run blocking by our whole receiving corps is improving. For all the talk about Doctson not delivering, which I agree with, he seems to be willing to block in the run game way more than last year.

-Late in the game, when pressured Smith went for the check down a couple of times while he had some wide open receivers down the field. I think this is were our offense's weaknesses might get exposed during the season: it'll be hard for us to come back from big deficits, because Alex Smith is a really good QB, safe with the ball, but not willing to make deep throws under pressure. This is not a real criticism, we knew what we were getting, just saying what I think I saw.

-Allen is a beast.