The Packers did not play very well in this football game but it appeared that they weren’t trying to win this game as hard as the Titans who played a lot of the regulars in this game.  Aaron Rodgers only threw one pass in this game but it was a darn good one as Greg Jennings caught it and scored on a 68-yard pass play.  Brian Brohm had another game to forget as he completed 7 of 12 passes for 52 yards but he fumbled 3 times, losing one of them.  Matt Flynn played much better than Brohm once again as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards with 2 TD passes.  He also carried the football 2 times for 27 yards (13.5 ypc).  Punter John Ryan was the leading rusher on the Packers in this game with 34 yards on 1 carry.  Kregg Lumpkin was very busy in this game with 27 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.7 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 33 yards (8.3 avg).  Noah Herron pitched in with 25 yards rushing on 4 carries (6.3 ypc) in this game.  The Packers finished up with 116 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes for 150 yards.  The Packers only had possession of the football for 23:15 in this game and it’s darn hard to win that way.

Linebackers Tracy White and Abdul Hodge led the way for the Packers’ defense in this game with 9 tackles apiece.  Safety Tyrone Culver also had a solid game with 6 tackles and a interception that he returned 30 yards.  The Titans finished up with 206 yards rushing on 40 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 38 passes for 197 yards.  The Packers finished up the preseason 1-3 but they did get some valuable reps for the young QBs which was important.

The Packers have cut DeShawn Wynn.  Wynn proved as a rookie last season that he’s a very talented player but he got in the doghouse because he had a very low threshold for pain causing him to miss substantial time.  Wynn played in 7 games last season for the Packers and he carried the football 50 times for 203 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 9 passes for 73 yards (8.1 avg).  The Packers just felt that Wynn was not one of the three best running backs on this football team.  He will likely get another chance with a team this season.

The Green Bay Packers looked pretty good against the Broncos in Denver last Friday Night.  Aaron Rodgers was razor sharp completing 18 of 22 passes for 193 yards with a 10-yard TD pass to Donald Driver.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards (1.7 ypc) including a 1-yard TD run.  Brian Brohm wasn’t in this game long as he was 0 for 4 passing before getting yanked.  Fellow rookie QB Matt Flynn finished up the game completing 2 of 2 passes for 2 yards.  Kregg Lumpkin led the way for the Packers with 39 yards rushing for 11 carries (3.5 ypc) with a 1-yard TD run.  Noah Herron also had a solid game rushing for 27 yards on 4 carries (6.8 ypc).  Brandon Jackson pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 8 carries (2.4 ypc).  Greg Jennings was the leading receiver for the Packers on Friday Night with 4 catches for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  Donald Driver pitched in with 2 catches for 33 yards (16.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Packers finished up this game with 94 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 28 passes for 187 yards.

Linebacker Barry Poppinga and safety Aaron Rouse led the way for the Packers with 5 tackles apiece.  The Broncos finished up with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 33 passes for 190 yards.  This was a good win for the Packers after last week’s debacle against the Niners.

If the Packers didn’t want to play last Saturday Night they should have just stayed at home.  Aaron Rodgers wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was in the preseason opener as he completed 9 of 16 passes for 58 yards.  Brian Brohm looked lost again as he completed 4 of 9 passes for 33 yards and he also lost a fumble.  Matt Flynn also had issues against the 49ers as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 33 yards but he fumbled twice losing 1 of them.  The offensive line was not getting off of the football as the Niners sacked Packers’ QBs six times in this game.  RB Kregg Lumpkin led the Packers in rushing in this game with 51 yards on 10 carries (5.1 ypc).  Noah Herron was also very solid with 35 yards rushing on 6 carries (5.8 ypc).  Brandon Jackson pitched in with 10 yards rushing on 3 carries (3.3 ypc).  Donald Driver caught 3 passes to lead the way for the Packers but he only had 15 yards receiving.  The Packers finished up with 101 yards rushing (4.4 ypc) and they completed 18 of 31 passes for only 81 yards.  That was an awful display of offensive football for the Packers.

Linebacker Brandon Chillar led a disppointing effort on defense with 7 tackles for the Packers.  The 49ers finished up with 118 yards rushing on 35 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 34 passes for 237 yards.  The special teams also let the Packers down in this game as Allen Rossum returned a punt 67 yards for a TD.  The Packers are lucky that this was just a preason game because they looked awful against the 49ers.

Coach McCarthy……you wanted Aaron Rodgers and you got him, now let’s see you do better than losing the NFC Championship this season.  Mike McCarthy did a great job last season as he improved the Packers 5 games during the regular season and then getting them to the NFC Championship falling 23-20 to the Super Bowl Champs.  He put all of his time and effort into getting Aaron Rodgers ready during the off-season to replace Brett Favre and we will see soon enough whether the hard work will pay off or not.  McCarthy has compiled a 21-11 record (65.6%) during the regular season for the Packers and he’s 1-1 in the post season.  McCarthy is in a tough spot because of how far Brett Favre led the team last season as it will be really tough for the Packers to get that far again in 2008.

The Packers played too well last night to lose but that’s exactly what they did despite outgaining the Bengals 383-241!  Aaron Rodgers made his debut as the starting QB and he looked pretty good completing 9 of 15 passes for 117 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Brian Brohm didn’t look too good as he was the only QB on the Packers that didn’t excel as he completed 8 of 17 passes for 70 yards with 1 interception.  Fellow rookie Matt Flynn followed Brohm and he almost brought the Packers all the way back.  He completed 12 of 21 passes for 97 yards with a TD pass to RB Kregg Lumpkin.  Brandon Jackson got the start last night at RB and he looked good carrying the ball 6 times for 44 yards (7.3 ypc).  Kregg Lumpkin also had a solid game as he carried the ball 7 times for 36 yards (5.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 20 yards including a 11-yard strike for a TD in the 4th quarter from Matt Flynn.  Noah Herron was busy rushing for 17 yards on 4 carries (4.3 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 11 yards.  Dexter Wynn didn’t have his best game rushing for 10 yards on 4 carries (2.5 ypc).  James Jones led the Packers in receiving yards with 44 on 3 catches (14.7 avg) with a TD grab from Aaron Rodgers.  Donald Driver pitched in with 4 receptions for 39 yards (9.8 avg) last night.  The Packers finished up with 112 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.1 ypc).  They also completed 29 of 53 passes for 271 yards last night.

Linebackers Abdul Hodge and Tracy White led the way for the Packers with 6 tackles apiece.  DE Jason Hunter also had a solid game with 5 tackles and a sack.  Safety Aaron Rouse pitched in with 4 tackles and a interception last night.  The Bengals finished up with 123 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc).  They also completed 14 of 27 passes for 118 yards as the Packers were impressive on defense last night.

The Packers have traded 38-year old QB Brett Favre to the Jets for a conditional draft pick that hinges on his performance this season.  Good Luck to Brett Favre as he will still be wearing a #4 in a green uniform.  We will see soon enough if this was a smart or dumb move for the Packers.  Still, they shouldn’t have treated him like they did.  Aaron Rodgers better play well or the Packers are really going to look bad because of this.

23-year old Mason Crosby had some accuracy issues last season for the Packers on field goals but he’s hoping to make up for it in 2008.  He has a strong enough leg to nail the long ones so the Packers are hopeful for improvement.  Crosby played in all 16 games for the Packers last season and he connected on 31 of 39 field goals (79.5%).  He also converted all 48 of his extra point attempts. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Packers have so many playmakers at other positions that the defense usually doesn’t pay much attention to the tight ends and they have a talented bunch.  27-year old Donald Lee had a breakout season for the Packers in 2007.  He played in 15 games for the Packers last season and he caught 48 passes for 575 yards (12.0 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Look for Lee to have even better numbers this season as he’s clearly the #1 TE on the Packers heading into this season.  Lee has now played in 77 games in his NFL career and he has caught 111 passes for 1,239 yards (11.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs. 

21-year old rookie Jermichael Finley has a nice upside but the Packers will probably bring him around slowly.  Finley played in 13 games (all starts) with Texas last season and he caught 45 passes for 575 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Packers hope that Finley will be ready to play in 2 TE sets as a rookie as he is clearly the second most talented TE on the team.  Finley played in 26 games (17 starts) in his career at Texas and he caught 76 passes for 947 yards (12.5 avg) with 5 TDs.

The Packers keep raving about Tory Humphrey but he never makes it to the field before breaking down.  The 6’2″, 250 pound Humphrey did not play in a game with the Packers last season.  He last played in 2005 with the Packers and it was only 1 game.  He has yet to catch a pass in his NFL career which could be over if he doesn’t do something this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Packers are really stacked at WR for the 2008 season.  24-year old Greg Jennings appears on the verge of becoming the new go-to receiver on the Packers.  He is super fast as he blows right by defenders often on his way towards the end zone.  Jennings played in 13 games for the Packers last season and he caught 53 passes for 920 yards (17.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Look for Jennings to have another outstanding season for the Packers in 2008.   He has now played in 27 games in his NFL career and he has caught 98 passes for 1,552 yards (15.8 avg) with 15 TD grabs. 

33-year old Donald Driver still makes all of the tough grabs in traffic that no one else wants to and he has great hands.  Driver still has enough speed to get deep once in a while but not as often as he used to.  Driver played in 15 games for the Packers last season and he caught 82 passes for 1,048 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Driver to have another solid season in 2008 unless he starts to show his age.  Driver has now played in 128 games in his NFL career and he has caught 503 passes for 6,977 yards (13.9 avg) with 38 TD grabs.

2nd year man James Jones had a very solid rookie season for the Packers and he has the edge for being the #3 WR for the Packers in 2008.  Jones has a good speed/size combo which projects to him being a future starter down the road for the Packers when Donald Driver decides to hang up the cleats.  Jones played in all 16 games for the Packers last season and he caught 47 passes for 676 yards (14.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs. 

The Packers couldn’t resist drafting another WR last April despite already being loaded there and that’s because Jordy Nelson was the player available.  Nelson is a big guy at 6’3″, 217 pounds and he had a great year last season at Kansas State.  Nelson played in 12 games (all starts) for Kansas State last season and he caught 122 passes for 1,606 yards (13.2 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Don’t look for Nelson to have a big role with the Packers as a rookie unless they suffer some injuries above him on the depth chart but he does have a bright future.  Nelson finished his career at Kansas State playing in 36 games (32 starts) in which he caught 206 passes for 2,822 yards (13.7 avg) with 20 TD grabs.

25-year old Ruvell Martin is a big guy (6’4″, 210 pounds) and he can get down the field.  He appears caught in a numbers game as he projects no higher than the #4 receiver on the Packers.  Martin played in 15 games with the Packers last season and he caught 16 passes for 242 yards (15.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Martin to just pick up scraps from under the table for the Packers in the passing game.  Martin has now played in 28 games in his NFL career and he has caught 37 passes for 600 yards (16.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A