by Michael Smith | August 15th, 2009
The Packers open the preseason against the Cleveland Browns at legendary Lambeau Field on Saturday night. Hopefully, if you have been reading my articles, you can tell that football and I have a very unhealthy relationship. Some would even call me “sick”. Anyway, due to my problems I will be recording the first pre-season game and breaking down the film for a little Monday morning analysis on packerchatters. However, if you aren’t a football deviant like me here are 10 things to watch even when all the starters are on the sidelines.
10. Quinn vs. Anderson: Cleveland has a full blown quarterback controversy on their hands. While Brady Quinn is the golden boy, from the golden dome, he has done nothing to prove that he is ready to lead an NFL team for an entire season. In three starts last season Quinn recorded a pathetic 65.8 passer rating. Anderson, on the other hand, has shown flashes of brilliance, but his inconsistent play, and penchant for giving the ball to the other team free of charge, has seen him fall out of favor with the famed Dog Pound. Pundits speculate that Quinn will likely get the nod regardless of whether or not he earns it. I agree with that statement, but new coach Eric Mangini didn’t draft Brady Quinn and doesn’t owe him anything. Quinn will likely get the first few series of the game, but don’t be surprised if Anderson is already in on the second series with the first team offense.
9. The 3-4 Defense!!!: All offseason most of the talk in Packerdom has revolved around the installation of the new 3-4 defense. With only three down lineman, the 3-4 allows the Packers to field four linebackers which theoretically best fits our personnel. Dom Campers is a defensive guru, and highly respected coach. Let’s hope that our team is able to run the 3-4 with the type of success that we hope Dom will bring us. Pay particular attention to the Aaron Kampman. The pro-bowl DE will now play outside linebacker/defensive end in a fluid position similar to the Dallas QB nightmare DeMarcus Ware.
8. The Pride Of Brookfield: Joe Thomas will return to his home state playing LT for the Cleveland Browns. He is an absolute machine, and a highlight reel of textbook offensive line play. If you are a football coach, and you are watching the game, tape the parts with Thomas to show to your team how to play the position. As a Badger alum myself, I got to watch Joe Thomas year in and year out manhandle the opposing team. He was so good that Barry Alvarez had him play some defensive line. That experiment was a massive failure as Thomas was injured playing defense, and Alvarez was almost reduced to tears, blaming himself for the injury. Things turned out ok for Thomas though. He was drafted third overall, and was invited to the pro-bowl in each of his first two seasons. You have to love a guy who was fishing with his dad on draft day when he got word that he was drafted.
7. Camera Shots of Green and Gold Faithful in Shorts: You will not get to see that very often this year, so enjoy it while you can.
6. Brohm & Flynn: It seems fairly likely that Matt Flynn will be the first guy off the bench when A-Rodge gets yanked, but the question remains who will be the number two when the season starts? As I covered in a previous article of mine, neither of these guys did anything impressive at all last year. What I want to see is a guy who looks comfortable and poised. Both players played in big national TV games in college, yet for the Packers they have looked like the most nervous guys in the stadium. I just hope that one of the two makes a few throws that help to comfort me at night. I have this reoccurring nightmare where Rodgers goes down early in the season and I have to watch 14 games with one of these guys under center.
5. James Jones: What can I say about James Jones that hasn’t already been said about Grandma’s Thanksgiving dinner? Sure it looks good at the beginning, but when you take that first bite you are generally underwhelmed. Once again James is wowing those who are watching him at training camp. Mike McCarthy has said a few times how good he has looked. Let’s hope that the knee that gave James problems last year is fully healed. He is a guy who everyone in Packer land can see has the potential to be a great player he just needs everything to come together for him. In his third season I’m betting that he will get it figured out, and become a big play threat for our already explosive offense.
4. Rookies: Unfortunately, with the Raji holdout, we will not get to see our first pick (Raji) line-up across from their first pick (Mack). Alex Mack doesn’t have a “secret world” (obscure Nickelodeon reference), but he does have a whole lot of game. He won the award for football’s top scholar-athlete last year, and was a two-time all American while playing center for Cal. The Browns do have a good center in Hank Fraley, and most of Cleveland believes that whoever isn’t starting at center will start at right guard. The Browns also have a pair of Rookie Wideouts to keep an eye on. Ohio State’s Brian Robiskie, and Georgia’s Mohamed Massaquoi will test the packers defense. For the Packers it’s all about Clay Matthews. We traded up to get him, and with the 3-4 defense he is going to get a lot of playing time. This is most Packer fans first chance to see him wearing the green and gold, and I don’t think he will disappoint.
3. The Packer O-Line: The O-Line is going to have a rude awakening to start the season. The Browns also employ the vaunted 3-4 defense. They also have a new defensive coordinator in Rob Ryan. Ryan said of his defense, “I know one thing, we’ll be an attacking defense and an exciting defense”. Anchoring that defense is one of the biggest humans you will ever see. Listed at 6’4″ and a slimming 350 lbs Shaun Rogers is a nightmare Nose Tackle. Not only is Rogers a 2-time Pro-Bowler, but he has blocked 11 kicks in his career. At DE is former Packer Corey Williams, and keep an eye on exciting young linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. If the O-line isn’t careful the Packer QBs could have some pretty dirty jerseys. Most fans agree that O-Line is our biggest concern, and I think that Cleveland will be a good test to open the season.
2. Guys playing for their football lives: After the first few series all of the starters will likely sit. A lot of fans tune out and turn on something else. However, I would urge those fans to keep watching the game. Although the talent level and quality of play has diminished, the emotion is sometimes much greater. A big play on special teams, or a tackle late in the 4th quarter could mean a guy earns his spot on the roster. While this will be much more magnified as the preseason rolls on, the emotion of the borderline players reminds me of why football is so great. It’s a game, and some guys still play with that raw emotion.
1. IT’S PACKER FOOTBALL: After a long offseason it’s finally here. Drink it in Wisconsin. It is beautiful.
Michael Smith is a Staff OP/ED writer for PackerChatters.com.
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Great review. Was that picture of Shaun rogers stretched? That is absurd. No way has any athlete, ever, looked like that.
That picture of Rogers is not doctored. If you really look at his uniform and the background you can tell. He is just a big boy.
Some things I will be interested in judging:
Offensively- How does Barbre hold up against a live pass rush? Who are the starters on the OL? Does JerMichael Finley really sparkle? Does the offense look crisp or sluggish?
Defensively- Can Kampman cover well enough to be effective? Will Harrell play, and if he does, is he effective? Can Hawk be an effective rusher? Will Bigby be exposed? How far off the line does Harris play- and is he effective?
Michael… I seem to remember you touting J. Nelson as a player to watch over Jones all offseason, now your saying that Jones is the player everyone in Packerland is looking forward to seeing?? What gives?!! Seems you just can’t make up your mind or can’t come correct when it is clear you were wrong!! Be a Man…
For the record, while everyone this offseason was touting Nelson as a guy on the rise, I was saying all offseason that Jones will be the #3WR… Guess you didn’t notice all the big plays Jones (making Champ Bailey look like a chump!) made as a rookie or just chose to overlook them in favor of the flavor of the day (Nelson)
Guess that makes ME the scout you should come to for clarification on your next indecision!
BTW-WHo gives a rip about what the Browns do… THis is a Packer site!!! So stick to the matter that really matter to the readers…. THe PACKERS!!!
Stroh —
First, I have only written 5 articles including this one. In none of the articles do I “tout” Jordy Nelson. Perhaps you are thinking of a different article from this site. I mention Jordy nelson briefly in the draft article, but say nothing about him. I mention James Jones in the article about players with something to prove, but all I say is that he will battle Jordy for the #3 receiver role after an injury plagued 2008. In the article about position battles I say that Jordy vs James is a win-win. In this particular article I say how much Mike McCarthy has liked James Jones in camp this year. In other words it is impossible for me to have been touting Jordy Nelson all off-season, because I have only been writing for about two weeks. In that two weeks I have never said that Jordy Nelson was the better player. In this article I never say that James Jones is now the clear cut #3. If anything I say that while he has looked good in camp (according to McCarthy) he hasn’t yet done it consistently in the regular season. I’m not sure where all of your anger towards me seems to come from, but I think you are getting some of the authors on this site mixed up. In my first article you said that I had a hidden agenda, and then later retracted that statement, so maybe you made a mistake again. Feel free to respond with the quotes from my articles I seemed to have missed. If you can find the quotes from my article I would be happy to “be a man”, but I’m not even sure what that means to you…
Second, I never claim to be a scout. I simply am a devout Packer fan who spends a lot of time studying the game and watching the game. I also spend a lot of time researching my articles in order to provide accurate information to the readers.
Third, this article was written to provide ten things to watch for in the first preseason game. When previewing a game it is impossible to just focus on one team. After all it takes two to tango. I’m sorry you didn’t appreciate that notes about the Browns, but I think that most Packer fans would appreciate the things I pointed out. Joe Thomas is a Badger alum and a Wisconsin native. Shaun Rogers is a former Lion, and now lines up against our questionable offensive line, as one of the best nose tackles in the game. He gives fans a chance to see how a 3-4 nose plays. The rookie wideouts for the Browns will match up against our 3rd, 4th, or 5th corners which are positions that are up for grabs in Packer land. Finally the Quinn-Anderson battle is something that, while it may not be related to the Packers, will be a huge talking point throughout the game as the announcers try to fill time.
Stroh, keep reading, and keep commenting, but I would suggest you spend a little more time creating an argument that is coherent and correct. When you come at me with an insulting tones and question my manhood you just obscure your point, and make yourself look worse. I am happy that you are such a passionate Packer fan, and am glad you have been James Jones #1 fan throughout. I look forward to hearing your response, and GO PACK.
I didn’t get to watch the game until midnight when the NFL replayed the game. I fell asleep at the bar, but I was glad to see that we looked good when I read the paper the next morning.
I was sporting a Jordy Nelson Jersey, which I’m pretty sure led everyone to believe that I was rocking a personalized jersey and my last name was nelson. Can we not be excited about Jones and Jordy. In a few years when DD hangs it up, Jennings, Jones and Jordy will be a filthy threesome to still have around. I think Jordy will end up being a nasty slot receiver, like Stokley in his prime, or Welker, but half a foot taller. I liked the insight smith, and I have been having the same nightmares.