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.

Packer Injury Watch: Bryan Bulaga's Concussion

RT Bryan Bulaga appears to be on the path to being cleared by Sunday, but his absence could lead to JC Tretter's first NFL start.

No Bryan Bulaga at practice. Davon House was watching on. Josh Sitton and Mike Neal were on bikes pic.twitter.com/eWz8pZx7ri
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) December 17, 2014

It wasn't pretty when Bulaga went to the locker room and Tretter surrendered the strip sack to DE Mario Williams that went for a safety. Except Williams is an elite pass rusher while the Buccaneers don't have much in the way of a pass rush. DT Gerald McCoy is one of the best players in the NFL, but he's done for the season. That leaves them with DT Clinton McDonald (who was good in 2013 with the Seahawks too) and DE Jacquies Smith (who's only had two good games this season) as their top rushers according to Pro Football Focus.

The Bucs have a pretty good run defense, led by LB Lavonte David and former Packer LB Danny Lansanah, but Tretter might be better as a run blocker at this point. Either way, even if Bulaga's unavailable, they should be in good shape to protect QB Aaron Rodgers.

McCarthy's Gotten Paid and Derek Sherrod Is Released

I think it was a gimme that the Packers would extend Mike McCarthy. There's been no reason to let him walk, and there's no obvious replacement in sight either. Two of his possible replacements have left in recent years, Ben McAdoo is off to a great start with Eli Manning and Joe Philbin's Dolphins have been outstanding over their last five games (with only a last second loss to the Packers as the exception), and I have no interest in seeing either of their current coordinators (Tom Clements and Dom Capers) become their next head coach.

ICYMI: The #Packers announced some roster moves on Monday. http://t.co/3H1Yy3tQyA pic.twitter.com/08EEPSqTSH
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 4, 2014

The big roster move was the release of former 1st round pick Derek Sherrod. This was a simple move to make. They needed to open a roster spot for JC Tretter to return from IR and Sherrod was clearly their worst lineman this season. The fact that Tretter played tackle in college, and is more likely to play guard than center at this time for the Packers, probably helped make the move easier because of the flexibility he provides. They could have released RG Lane Taylor instead, who's been just as awful this season as Sherrod in fewer snaps, but I don't have a problem choosing Sherrod over Taylor.

I do wonder what is going to happen with Sherrod. He's still got impressive size and looks like a NFL mauler. In some ways, 2014 is like a rookie season, because he missed 2012 and 2013 due to injuries. He's a developmental project, but he looks healthy and he might have better luck developing with a different franchise.

One side note was the addition of LB Joe Thomas and RB Rajion Neal to the practice squad. Both players were making noise in training camp before they were both injured in the first preseason game. I was very interested in watching Thomas last preseason, but he only got a few snaps on special teams. I'm not expecting to see either of them on the field this season, but I'm glad they're back in the fold for possible returns in 2015.

Packers 2014: The New Look Offensive Line

After reading Jack's post on RT Bryan Bulaga, I realized that I hadn't thought much about the changes on the offensive line this offseason. It's been a quiet 2014 so far with no free agent signing like with C Jeff Saturday in 2012 and only one late round draft choice (5th round C Corey Linsley). But the line's starting five is pretty much set, barring something surprising this preseason.

LT David Bakhitari. He went from unknown to the unquestioned starter at left tackle. He had a couple bad games last season, and unsurprisingly his conditioning entering last season as a rookie wasn't up to NFL standards. The fact that he's the unchallenged left tackle this season shows how much confidence the team has in him.

LG Josh Sitton. He had a rough start last season in Week 1 because of a back injury, but it cleared up within a couple weeks and he went onto be ranked as the No. 2 guard overall last season by Pro Football Focus.

C JC Tretter. Mike McCarthy has seemed to have wanted a tall center for years. He tried to promote Jason Spitz over Scott Wells a few years ago, but Spitz got hurt and Wells went onto play at a Pro Bowl level. Tretter is more athletic and taller (6-4) than any starting center they've had in years, and the coaches know exactly what they've got after watching him play on the scout team for the last several weeks of the 2013 season. Playing alongside two veterans will help with his transition, and I've got zero concerns about him.

RG T.J. Lang. He was very good in his first season as a starter (2011) but he slipped in 2012, and I was worried about his long-term future. Instead, a move to the right side of the line gave him no problems, and he bounced back with a solid 2013 season (the 15th ranked guard last season overall according to Pro Football Focus). Sitton and Lang were the anchors of the line in 2013, and they'll do it again next season.

RT Bryan Bulaga. If they did have any concerns about him returning from an ACL tear, he's seemed to have answered them this offseason. His health is still the biggest concern among the five starters, and even if that does become a problem again, Don Barclay was OK last season in his place.

Warm and humid today at #Packers minicamp. Lang, Tretter and Bulaga chat during special teams. pic.twitter.com/bJTLz50uCf
— The Fan 1075 (@WDUZ) June 17, 2014