Green Bay vs. Tennessee – Preseason Game 1

The first preseason game for the Packers is officially in the books. Today I will be taking
who took a step forward, and who took a step back. My primary goals for this game was to see us play as many guys as possible, run as many plays as possible, and come out as healthy as possible. Unfortunately the two new guys I was most looking forward to seeing (Neal & Thomas) got injured. In any case, onto the list:

Who Took a Step Forward

JC Tretter – He separated himself from the other centers a great deal in live action from what I saw. He seems very confident out there and stayed with his blocks. I came away very impressed with the frontrunner for the starting center job.

Jumal Rolle – He flashed on Family Night and had another solid outing against the Titans. I don't remember a single thing Sean Richardson did last night and Goodson was up and down. It is a crowded position, but if I had to choose between any of the other rookies or 1st year players, then my money is on this guy.

Josh Boyd – The guy looks disruptive. He is growing into his role at defensive end and I see big things for Boyd this year. He is still standing out to me more than Datone Jones is. At least that is how I feel after what I saw yesterday.

Mike Pennel – When this guy was in the game, I noticed him, and I usually don't notice the nose tackle all that much. The backup NT role is up for grabs with the injury to Guion. Pennel showed me yesterday that he deserves more snaps.

The Back Up QB Position – Compared to where it was at this time last season, these guys look like world-beaters.

Offensive Line Depth - Remember how horrible that was last year? Well Sherrod, Adams, and Taylor were quite competent last night and gave our backup QBs and RBs some great opportunities. To stay competitive throughout yesterday's game was a testament to how much better our offensive line is this year when compared to recent years.

Who Took a Step Back

Demetri Goodson – It wasn't a significant step back from where he already was but he didn't really do much to warrant a roster spot at this time. He had a nifty pass breakup later in the game, but overall, I believe this is a practice squad candidate at best.

Carlos Gray – A longshot to make the team anyway, Carlos showed no
disruptive force and seemed to be easily moved by his opponents.

Luther Robinson – You could tell whenever Pennel left the game, because this guy just doesn't hold the point.

Adrian Hubbard – The guy was a non-factor. I don't much changing. He looks physically imposing, but his play has not lived up to the hype.

Jamari Lattimore – I know he is not a new player, but he really stuck out to me yesterday as a guy who is not making the most of his opportunities. He looked slow and tentative out there.

The Tight End Group – Apart from a play Bostick, no one really stood out and commanded more opportunities. I was disappointed in the tight end group last night.

The Wide Receiver Group – They were lackluster as well. The coaching staff is looking for some one to step up and take those spots behind Nelson and Cobb. I didn't see a single guy really make a confident charge last night. Boykin in particular looks a bit off with his body language. Not sure if anyone else is picking up on this.

That's my look back at the game that was. Who stood out for you? Were they improving or taking steps back?

This part here "I don't remember a single thing Sean Richardson did last night" cost you an Applause young man!!

As disappointing as the receivers/Tight ends were, The local Tennessee announcers referred to the weather conditions as a "monsoon" on multiple occasions. Its hard to put to much into it with that being the case.

Yeah I thought Barrington looked a lot better than Lattimore

Gillette had a decent catch and run, he has seemed better than White to me so far.
I would have him and Dorsey as the top 2 at this point in the group of WRs battling for a roster spot.

Rodgers and Bostick continue to look better than Quarless, one of those 2 should end up starting.

Am I wrong or was Palmer in the game ahead of Mulumba, Bradford, and that UDFA guy whose been a stud (forgot the name).
I had figured he was all but gone but it seems the coaches might like him a bit more than us fans do.

Sherrod making me feel good about the tackle depth

The run D from the 1s and 2s line looked pretty solid overall and that's a pretty stout o-line in Tennessee.

Jarrett Bush and Davon House continue to be pre-season STUDS.

Zero2Cool;281474This part here "I don't remember a single thing Sean Richardson did last night" cost you an Applause young man!!

I am rooting for the guy. I just didn't notice him. Read some articles today and none of them mentioned him either. If he was involved, then I just missed him watching other people.

Are you talking about Jayrone Elliot from Toledo, Steve?
We got good news on LB Joe Thomas that he won't need surgery.
I guess that could be bad news, too... We may not be able to IR him, now, if he isn't going to make it.


If you could make this team anywhere it would be at ILB and TE.

Mason Crosby deserves a mention.
He has been tremendous this TC and last night as well.
Hard to believe he was the guy missing all those Figgys a few years ago.

I think you missed the worse performance of the night.... the announcers. Of course they're not the Packers so maybe they didn't count in your blog.


Did any of the back-up OLBers stand out? I personally didn't notice any, but I was hoping some of the back-up OLB would step up more.

I would go with Palmer standing out the most. Bradford may have only had a handful of snaps at most. I only noticed him on one. I want to see his snaps increase.

beast;281489I think you missed the worse performance of the night.... the announcers.

That usually goes without saying.

I was going on about that enough in the chat box. I was still annoyed about it today. Do those announcers actually do regular season games too? If so, wow.