Packers 2016 Preseason: Win Over Raiders

This was an odd preseason game to evaluate for the Green Bay Packers. With so many stars sitting in these first two preseason games, it's not like we're watching the team that's going to play in the regular season opener, and there are few starting jobs being fought over. JC Tretter and Blake Martinez both played well, but it might not matter at all if they're just keeping the seats warm for Corey Linsley and Jake Ryan, respectively. It's important to avoid injuries (the ankle injury doesn't appear serious for QB Brett Hundley) and sort out the battles at the end of the bench. Speaking of which...

Last night was a dream come true.. #BeyondBlessed #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/RiKdAVdclM

— Josh Hawkins (@J_HawKkk) August 19, 2016

After two games, the biggest surprise has been CB Josh Hawkins. Among the rookies, maybe Kenny Clark and Blake Martinez might have outplayed him, and among the returning players, it's good to see ILB Carl Bradford emerge. But I know who those guys are and I knew little of Hawkins before he stood out in both preseason games. On the play pictured above, Hawkins went up high to make a play on the ball and grab the INT on a pass that should have been over his head.

Offensive evaluation:

After an opening TD drive that featured RB Eddie Lacy (who's looked better than last season, so far), maybe the plan was to air it out with Hundley, but instead he re-injured his ankle shortly after Lacy took a seat. The injury did show that rookie LT Jason Spriggs isn't yet up to pass blocking against an All-Pro like DE Khalil Mack. After Hundley left, the Packers called a lot of running plays for James Starks and John Crockett, and by the end of the game they were almost exclusively calling running plays for QB Marquise Williams. That ground heavy performance did make the offensive line look good, and showed that rookie RT Kyle Murphy is a pretty good run blocker, but it provided few opportunities for the receivers.

Impressive play on the boundary bodes well for the #Packers.

Insider Inbox 📬: https://t.co/j4U6I7SBmP pic.twitter.com/reoTl2UwLR

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 20, 2016

But when they did throw the ball, they did have success throwing to WR Davante Adams. Mike McCarthy also complemented Adams during his post-game press conference. After a disappointing sophomore season, Adams is starting to show the promise that was expected last year. The only negative in the passing game was all the incompletions thrown to WR Ty Montgomery who is slowly moving down the depth chart this preseason.

Defensive evaluation:

With a lot of sure tackling and great coverage by the secondary, the Raiders struggled to get much of anything going against the Packers' first or second team defenses. Outside of two long completions to Amari Cooper and Seth Roberts, the Raiders moved the ball little through the air, and only averaged 2.4 ypc on the ground. I would like to stop seeing CB Damarious Randall stop getting beaten in coverage, and his INT wasn't a big sign of improvement when he had to push off (not called) to make the play. On the ground, the Raiders had little success moving the Packers' tackles off the line, and the Packers' linebackers did a good job of moving through all the traffic around the line of scrimmage to make the tackles.

But the one thing that was really missing was their pass rush. The Packers didn't record a single sack or even a quarterback hit. Part of that was the result of the Raiders' QBs getting the ball out of their hands quickly. If the Packers were hoping LB Nick Perry and/or LB Kyler Fackrell were going to provide a consistent pass rush this season, it hasn't worked out so far.

Special teams:

It's kind of pointless to discuss special teams during the preseason, when the Packers are using so many different players on each unit compared to the ones who will be lining up during the regular season. But the Raiders scored their only touchdown when CB LaDarius Gunter whiffed on a block that led to a blocked punt recovered in the end zone. The return situation hasn't looked great either, other than a couple nice returns from rookie WR Trevor Davis, who seems unlikely to stick with so many other receivers ahead of him on offense.

So the Packers didn't look bad, and they mostly looked really good, but this is all happening with a number of key players sitting out and/or hurt. At least it looks like the Packers are a deep team, if they need to call on that depth later in the regular season due to injuries.

The Packer Offensive Line Was Awful Against The Lions

Worrying about the offense is not a concern I've written about often for the Green Bay Packers. This shouldn't be a big concern when QB Aaron Rodgers is healthy and playing, but the other 10 starters on offense have to contribute too.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix grabbed his 1st career career INT on Sunday. #GBvsDET Game highlights: http://t.co/C24up63FTq pic.twitter.com/nAOvx6qO6t
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 21, 2014

The good news is that the defense is looking much better. They got big plays from two new faces (LB Julius Peppers and FS HaHa Clinton-Dix) and another one from a player who was seldom used in the past (CB Davon House). Though House's INT was probably the least helpful turnover I've ever seen since it pinned the Packers on the goal line and led to safety. The defense wore out late in the game as RB Reggie Bush ran for a long TD and even WR Golden Tate was running through tackles on the final drive. The defense could have done more, but overall they held a good offense in check.

I wrote last week about the lack of help from the offensive skill players. The Lions double-teamed WR Jordy Nelson (who still managed to lead the team in receiving) and it left the offense without a big play threat. TE Andrew Quarless had a great game, but that can't be said for any of the other receiver or back. However, the big problem was that the offensive line had a bad, bad day.

This isn't the first time they struggled badly trying to stop Suh and Fairley. While neither Lion had a huge stat line, they were shoving lineman out of the way at times and Rodgers was throwing a lot of quick passes. He couldn't take a few seconds to let a route develop. The Packers had done a pretty good job against them in recent seasons but this wasn't one of those moments.

LT David Bakhitari. Pro Football Focus gives him the worst run blocking grade of any lineman this season, and the visual evidence would confirm that. However, he does have a positive pass blocking grade, which might be good enough for Mike McCarthy. Former LT Chad Clifton was rarely an asset as a run blocker, but it didn't matter because of his reliable pass blocking.

LG Josh Sitton. He still has the best overall grade at Pro Football Focus of any lineman despite having his worst game of the season. He usually has one bad game per year (in 2013 it was the home opener against the 49ers). I expect he'll bounce back.

C Corey Linsley. He looked like a rookie trying to fill in for a starter last Sunday. Suh especially was shoving him around. He's probably not a long-term starter and he held up as best he could considering neither of the two veterans playing alongside him played well.

RG T.J. Lang. I lost track of the number of times I saw Lang on the ground. He was the lineman watching LB DeAndre Levy running by him on his way to tackling RB Eddie Lacy in the end zone for a safety. He was the only lineman charged with a sack by Pro Football Focus but he still ended up with a positive grade from them on Sunday. Go figure. It looked like a forgettable game for him.

RT Bryan Bulaga. With his surprising return from a knee injury, I'd expected the line to play well, but that didn't happen. Still, it wasn't his fault and he was the only lineman with a positive grade from Pro Football Focus.

The combination of arguably the best two defensive tackles going up against a line featuring a rookie center ended up going about as bad as you might expect. Hopefully it goes better against the Bears next week, but DT Stephen Paea had a good game against the Jets and DT Jeremiah Ratliff is having a good season (assuming he returns from a concussion). At this point, there's no big fix coming until JC Tretter returns later this season, but Sitton and Lang should bounce back from their poor game against the Lions.

Packers Continue Signing Draft Picks; Get WR Jared Abbrederis and Center Corey Linsley on Contracts

The Green Bay Packers, in their continuing hurry to sign all of their 2014 draft picks, have gotten WR Jared Abbrederis and Center Corey Linsley on contracts, team GM Ted Thompson announced last night. 

The duo, products of Wisconsin and Ohio State, respectively, were each taken by Green Bay in Saturday's fifth round.

During their times at those Big Ten schools, each put up pretty good numbers, as Abbrederis collected 202 receptions for 3,140 yards and Linsley helped the Buckeyes break multiple school records with 87 touchdowns and 637 points last season. 

Later on at the combine, the two's success continued. There, Linsley, a 296 lb, 6'3" Offensive Lineman, reached 27 inches on the vertical jump, while Abbrederis ran the 40 yard Dash in just 4.50 seconds.

Interestingly, Abbrederis is the first Badger to be taken by the Packers since 2001, when OL Bill Ferrario was drafted in the fourth round. The four-year college star is also the first Wisconsin rookie to head up to Green Bay under Ted Thompson, making him signing today very likable.

As for Linsley, him being acquired is also very intriguing, as he is well known for his ability to control rushing defenders.