Packers Preseason Game 4, Packers Lose To Chiefs, 17-7

The last preseason game for the Green Bay Packers is usually a downer, with most all the starters sitting, and this one was no exception. It was also the first preseason game this year against a team that made the playoffs last season, which is currently run by former Packer scouting director John Dorsey, so it also featured the best level of competition they've faced so far.

Packers offense:

The problem was the offensive line, which featured the same five backup players throughout, plus some snaps for undrafted rookie Kyle Steuck at guard. When QB Joe Callahan wasn't running for his life, he was getting sacked. The running backs had no where to go (2.4 ypc). The lineman committed multiple holding and illegal blocking penalties. When you can't protect the QB or run the ball, the offense is going nowhere.

RT Kyle Murphy allowed a couple more sacks and showed he isn't ready to pass protect in the NFL. LG Lane Taylor was all-around terrible. C Don Barclay was floating his long snaps to Callahan and didn't prove that he can play inside this season any better than he played tackle last season. Rookie LT Jason Spriggs was again solid, except for a couple plays when he lost his balance and taken out of the play, which has happened to him in every preseason game. However, undrafted free agent Lucas Patrick was impressive, and his only struggles seem to be related to the giant club he's had to play with on his injured right hand. They better stash him on the practice squad.

WRs Davante Adams and Ty Montgomery are on my bubble, and neither one stood out. Both started out strong, Montgomery even blocked a punt on special teams, and then they both did nothing except drop passes in the second half.

Second pick of the preseason for @J_HawKkk! #GBvsKC #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/x9nCPQFuCR

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 2, 2016

Packers defense:

It looked like they were playing with no inside linebackers. Even ILB Blake Martinez struggled during his brief playing time. This was the first preseason game for ILB Jake Ryan and he looked a step behind on every play. Both Chiefs rushing TDs happened when the ILB failed to make the tackle in the backfield. ILB Carl Bradford didn't show the same rush to the ball that he's had earlier this preseason.

There wasn't much of a pass rush either. OLB Reggie Gilbert did nothing, and OLB Kyler Fackrell only stepped up after the bottom of the Chiefs roster started playing late in the game. All the interior tackles played well, and they probably gave GM Ted Thompson something of a good problem to sort out who to keep.

Backup QB Tyler Bray led both Chiefs' TD drives, and after a slow start for him (this was his first preseason game) he took advantage of soft coverage from the Packer defensive backs. The coverage scheme was easy for a veteran like Bray to read, so was it the DBs fault for behind a step behind or was it the scheme? If it is the fault of the scheme, that's not a problem because they won't be playing that the exact same coverage throughout an entire game during the regular season. They did record two INT (Josh Hawkins seen above plus another from LaDarius Gunter) and only had two pass interference/holding penalties. This is still a deep group of backups, and deciding who to keep won't be easy.

Packers special teams:

With no offense from either team for long stretches of the game, it was a punting clinic, and it provided a good opportunity to watch new Packer punter Jacob Schum. He doesn't have a big leg (his 45.5 yard average was 10 yards less per punt than Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt) but he was more consistent than former P Tim Masthay (almost all of Schum's punts were near the sidelines) and he was better at pinning them inside the 10 yard line. Masthay's best punts are probably better than Schum's best punts, but the Packers will probably know what to expect from Schum on each play compared to Masthay's inconsistent punting.

📸 @AaronRodgers12 & Alex Smith postgame.#GBvsKC pic.twitter.com/X5cb3HiR0P

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 2, 2016

It's time to shave the mustache, put the jersey back on, and get ready for the regular season starting in 10 days at Jacksonville. This is going to be a great team, no matter how the final roster cuts work out over the weekend, and they're currently favored to win every, single one of them.

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.