Oh boy. I’ll go ahead and get this mantra out of the way: it’s only preseason. As a football player, your body is your meal ticket and plenty of players instinctively hold back during preseason. In fact, Aaron Rodgers also sat this one out for a supposed “tight back” injury. This came a few days after coach LaFleur indicated that he would be playing at least one quarter in the game. It’s no secret that Rodgers is not a fan of preseason play, but the last minute change not long after the coach indicated otherwise is hard not to notice.
The ugliest factor of the game, other than Kizer’s performance, was missed tackles and general defensive mistakes. Right off the bat, the Ravens were running right up the middle in hole after hole created at the line. They certainly didn’t look like a top 10 defense last night, but we’ll see. Overall, the Packers gave up 343 yards to the Ravens with 172 of those yards from rushing.
Once again, Allen Lazard did well with three catches for a team-leading total of 63 yards. He really wants the job, but even with his giant 6’5″ frame he is still behind the much smaller Darius Sheppard in competition for a WR position. Sheppard brings much needed special teams return skills that I have not seen yet from Lazard. Both players have a bright future in the NFL, but the Packers are flushed with receivers at the moment and the 53-man roster cut is coming soon. Meanwhile, Jake Kumerow is also working to get noticed with plenty of action last night with 3 receptions of his own for 52 yards. J’Mon Moore needs to get his résumé ready.
DeShone Kizer was each sacked once and the only TD pass of the night was from Boyle to Sheppard. A 3rd quarter fumble was credited to Boyle after a botched hand-off to FB Dexter Williams. The Ravens recovered on the Packers’ 6-yard line which eventually led to a rushing TD for the Ravens.
We also saw TE Jimmy Graham making a catch in the first quarter – something we all hope to see more of in the regular season. Kizer went to connect with him in the end zone in the 2nd quarter but the pass was overthrown. Again, it’s preseason, so made guys like him aren’t likely giving 100%. TE Robert Tonyan also managed 3 receptions including one in the 4th quarter on 3rd and long up the middle for a first down.
The best highlight by far was S Adrian Amos rejecting a strange attempt by Ravens TE Nick Boyle to hurdle over him:
Amos grew up in Baltimore where the game was played and likely had some extra motivation that showed in this play. As for Boyle, I am not really sure what he was thinking or attempting to do other than assuming Amos was going doing to go much lower on the tackle. Amos was picked up during free agency from division rival Chicago Bears and signed to a four year deal worth $37 million. So far so good.
My highlights of the night goes to the Smith’s. Preston Smith held the edge against a run that allowed Martinez to make a stop for no gain. Vanilla d was obvious and the pure fundamentals and experience of some vets was shown on that play.
2nd highlight of the night was z smith treating the ravens tackle like a child and forcing Jackson to run for a short gain. Any other qb that was a sack and frankly haven’t seen an edge player on the pack look that dominant since clay circa 20112.
The Packers first team O-line gave Kizer a very clean pocket. The starting O-line would be my bright spot for the game.
Kizer should have done more with the protection he received. Boyle also received decent protection. Both backup QBs missed many clean looks.
Jenkins is splitting snaps with Taylor on the starting O-line.
Translation…Rodgers goes down, the ship goes down. Kizer is horrible, Brett Hundley is better…and that is saying something.
What do you think of our running game? Our runs were stonewalled more often than not. But on defense, we couldn’t stop runs up the middle.
For some reason, both on interior OL and DL we favor smaller more athletic guys, and that shows when you try to power run or stop the power run for a first down. Ironically enough, the OLBs favored by Gute are heavier than average, more like 4-3 DEs.
MJ, with our starting offensive line in the game we ran the ball I believe 4 times in 15 plays. That is not much of a sample size without a #1 or #2 RB on the field. The worst run was -5 yards and I believe the Packers tried to pull Bulaga. Bulaga is probably not the most speedy OT to try and pull, but neither of the WRs on that side held their blocks well to allow Bulaga to get out.
With the #1 defense I’m fairly certain Lowery was caved to the inside, and Preston was sealed at the same time, once on the first Ingram run (7yds) and the Ravens second drive 13 yd run. Otherwise the D-line held up O.K against the run.
I liked that the Packers scheduled the Texans and Ravens, both are physical teams. If there is one thing the Packers need to try and learn is to be more physical. The Ravens last year ran the ball more than any team except maybe the Seahawks. The Ravens were in the top 5 defenses in YPC against the run. You would expect the Ravens to be very good in run offense and defense. I know every year when I get a chance I watch the Ravens because of how physical they play. Ravens against any AFC North opponent is almost a must watch for me.
I don’t know if LaFleur scripts the first 10 to 15 plays on offense for preseason, but if he did I think Rodgers would have put up 10 to 14 points on the Packer first two drives with the protection the starting o-line was providing the QBs.
That was a painful game to watch. Poor tackling, unable to convert in the redzone and bad throws. As a loyal Packer fan that is used to a winning record year after year, this is not inspiring to say the least. I know this is preseason, but the first string / starters are usually more impressive.
You sound like reddit. Preseason means nothing…tackling in preseason means nothing. Mark ingram is also a monster.
I don’t know if it means nothing, without it, teams wouldn’t know what they have in players. Plus players need to get up to game speed, get used to the routine again, and the refs, etc.
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In other news….i know a lot of you think that signing T Willy was a waste of money and a roster spot. Well…i always said his value was in mentoring the new guys. Just like in the first quarter of the Ravens game, Ol’ T Willy was showing off and teaching the newer guys the tricks of the trade. Take a look…..
https://www.baltimoreravens.com/video/highlight-lamar-jackson-shows-video-game-moves-on-nullified-touchdown-run
It means something to the players fighting for a roster spot most certainly… but we all know practice means a heck of a lot more than a silly exhibition game when it comes to weighing the players ability to succeed.
I do agree it is good practice for the refs and for a general feel of an NFL game for young players…but getting caught up in performances is quite silly.
The problem with practice is the small amount of contact per CBA rules. IMO pre-season games are so much more important than practice (camp) because it’s the closest thing you are going to get to the speed and the power of a regular season game. Even in padded contact practices in camp, each side knows what they are going to run, on top of that, they are not going to tackle 100% against teammates. On top of that, in pre-season they get to face schemes that they are not familiar with, which is invaluable for coaches to analyze players for the final roster.
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There are countless reasons why pre-season games are important. but i get that pre-season games may not mean much to the fans, that’s for sure.
Though schemewise I expected nothing surprising, I did expect to see the individual talent shine a bit more. The instances of poor tackling are a bad example of that. A nicer one was the depth at WR, with some fringe guys making plays here and there. We’ve seen this before, though, expecting an overflow of talent at WR only to find out it wasn’t so once the regular season begun. Regardless, really liked Kumerow and Tonyan, those IMO are no longer fringe players and challenge for playing time with the game-day offense.
The interior OL and DL were manhandled in the running game. We couldn’t gain a yard up the middle, and we couldn’t stop a conversion via power run up the middle. If we are conceding first downs like that, we are in for extensive and tiring drives. Both issues don’t seem fixable in the course of a couple of weeks, as they are personnel-related more than about scheming.
On the defensive side, some creative ILB blitzing here and there may plug a hole occasionally, but how consistently can you do that when the opponent knows they can both gain yards AND wear you down with the run? No need to test our pass D.
On offense, I don’t know… Maybe we can use those outside runs, but I didn’t see nice gaps opening, and the RBs had to dodge defenders at or before the line of scrimmage to make any gains.
I hope they just had a bad day, or didn’t sleep well, or whatever explains that performance without the talent being the culprit.
“….. only to find out it wasn’t so once the regular season begun.”
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Yes sir….that’s the thing. The regular season has a funny way putting off season optimism into perspective in terms of reality.
Hence my, show me something first philosophy.
I understand the initial concerns but you are going against Mark Ingram…one of the most physical backs in the league for 2 drives where you yielded a whopping 6 points. To say the packers d line is undersized doesnt really acknowledge that Clark is listed at 313, Adams at 308, and lowry at 297. Those are large men who will be rotated on game days…in fact the packers D line is anything but undersized. The packers defense in general is anything but undersized.
I agree outside of blake our ILB are small…but you pick your poison in the NFL…you can throw big run stopping ILBs like morrison out there only for them to get torched in coverage. Then the complaint would be “we cant do anything about tight ends getting 17 yard pitch and catch receptions on every 3rd and 6” Im more than happy to concede long field goals and grind it out mark ingram drives than watch the packers get torched by 2nd tight ends and 4th wideouts like they have for 15 years. Bend but dont break would be the best defense we’ve had in a decade.
I saw plenty of individual battles won yesterday as well as lost. Our secondary played well…both the smiths won some battles…clark won a battle for a stop…and this was all vanilla defense…scheme matters 100% especially against the only team in the NFL that actually schemes for preseason game. If i hear one more “but the ravens D looked good” ill vomit. They were tasked with stopping Kizer and Tra Carson as the 2 key players in the packers offense. Should we get the coach of the year trophy polished for harbaugh for his preseason scheming against that duo?
Now dont think im drinking too much koolaid…the Raiders game…assuming the starters play..will show a lot more about the individual talent level the packers are putting out there as it will be two teams doing no preparation going at it.
Kumerow is human…and man was he pissed when he dropped one! Love that guy.
AR shaking hands with a ref near the sideline…you can always use an official friend!
J’Mon no more needs his walking papers.
Bulaga patting AR on the back…probably saying “dude, you look to healthy when the cameras are on you” AR starts faux stretching his back from side to side making it look good… priceless!!
The Ravens broadcast did not show Hollman leave the field after his injury. Did anyone see if Hollman was carted off or walked off the field? The reason I ask is the hit from Gary was directly on the top of Hollman’s helmet and Gary was going full speed. It looked like Hollman’s neck was compressed and bent back.
It is one of those hits when you slow it down you cringe. I hope it is nothing, but it looks like at a minimum it was a very bad concussion.
Since I live in Myrtle Beach I do not see the pre season games and rely on this site and YouTube to see ahem “Highlights” appreciate the breakdown on here. I am concerned about fundamentals like tackling. I know pre-season is to see who has the “it” so I won’t read much into it. Chicago is going to be a tough game on both sides of the ball, A-Rod is going to have to play in pre- season or he and the first team will be flat IMHO. Keep up the good work on this site.
Baltimore is garbage
You don’t go 15 – 0 in preseason without scheming against your opponent. No way. Baltimore isn’t that good.
I used to have grudging respect for both Harbaugh brothers but have come to realize both are punks
Lastly I went to the Ravens first ever preseason game when the mighty Packers came to Charm(less) City. Punk ass fans – with no tradition and no class – threw popcorn and beer bottles caps at my parents and swore at them just for wearing Packers gear. They were in their mid 50s then and not antagonizing anyone.
I’ve hated the Purple Crows ever since. Garbage Scum
Rashan Gary played a lot this game. He played even worse than last week, getting sucked inside allow the ruuner to get outside. He has zero moves except a bull rush. On top of that he rarely pursues.
Preseason poker. He’s purposely sandbagging. Just out there going through the motions and told to absolutely not get injured, or aggravate a pre-existing condition. Simply lulling the competition into a false sense of security with lackluster play. Once the regular season starts – boom – he explodes. A whole repertoire of speed, moves, and relentless pursuit awaits – at the right time.
Yeah,… I can’t keep this up.
FFS i shitted on the Gary pick worse than anyone on this board but were really going for the curtain call after 4 quarters of preseason football?
In other news…..Cedric Benson..R.I.P.