Packers Continue Trend, Suck Balls in Preseason Finale
Well, the Green Bay Packers last exhibition game with the Kansas City Chiefs was about as uneventful as it gets. The Chiefs won 30-8, but that’s not the real story.
No one who matters even played. Casey Hayward, Brad Jones and Morgan Burnett were notables out because of injury. Key contributors who dressed but didn’t play included Aaron Rodgers, Jermichael Finley and Clay Matthews.
Someone who might be important and actually did play for the first time all preseason was Tramon Williams and he picked off Chase Daniels on the first series. Oh, the Chiefs starters didn’t play much either.
But that was about it.
The starters who did play left almost immediately after the game started. Vince Young and B.J. Coleman alternated at quarterback, with Young getting the start. Jarrett Boykin, Jeremy Ross and Tyrone Walker were the first three in at receiver, which says something for Walker’s chances of making the roster.
Ross, who was supposed to be the return man, hasn’t seized the job, although he did have three catches for 50 yards. The Packers gave rookie corner Micah Hyde another long look as the punt returner and used running back Alex Green extensively as the kick returner.
It’s time to say it, Ross might be gone. Green is probably on the team and Hyde looks like he might be a future star. Hyde sacked Daniels in the third and he’s been more than solid minus that touchdown he gave up against St. Louis.
Francois, meanwhile, had another solid game with three tackles. Jamari Lattimore was all over the place, though.
That guy had six tackles and probably made himself the next guy up when Brad Jones is out for the season and A.J. Hawk finally gets benched.
Another guy that was all over the place was cornerback/safety Chaz Powell. At the least, he probably earned himself a spot on the practice squad.
Another guy that probably earned himself a spot of the practice squad was cornerback Brandon Smith. Yeah, he got beat for three touchdowns, but he’s also a converted wide receiver and he’s still learning the position. He did some good things, has the size and speed and might have an NFL future as a corner with a little seasoning.
The question mark in all of this is safety Chris Banjo. The guy has been a playmaker all preseason, but he got hurt in the second. Although he returned in the third — probably because he thought he had to — you didn’t hear his name like you did early in the game. Banjo did catch our attention by getting a big sack in the fourth, though.
We’d be surprised if the Packers cut this guy.
Another guy who feels like he’s played himself into something, is fullback Jonathan Amosa, an undrafted free agent. That dude can pound some motherfuckers. He can also catch the ball — he caught that touchdown pass that won Vince Young the backup QB job.
It’s hard to see the Packers ditching John Kuhn, but they now have an option if they want to. This guy should at least be on the practice squad.
Unfortunately, as has been the case for most of the preseason, punter Tim Masthay was the Packers MVP. In addition to kicking the ball after the pathetic offense broke down, Masthay also had to make two tackles on returns and shit, Tim Masthay can tackle.
What else do we know?
These guys suck at run blocking. I don’t care who was in the game, it’s going to take Eddie Lacy running over three guys in the backfield for the Packers to gain any yards rushing this season.
Lacy is obviously the No. 1 back. He was in for a few plays and then out. Then the Packers gave Johnathan Franklin a long look. He gained 23 yards on 8 carries.
B.J. Coleman is getting cut. His pick in the first, which was a terribly thrown ball, likely sealed his fate. Ironically, perhaps, former Packers linebacker Frank Zombo intercepted that pass and returned it 28 yards.
The Packers defense — then mostly scrubs at that point — held the Chiefs to a field goal even though they started inside the Packers 10. Two sacks, one by our boy Johnny Jolly, helped that cause.
Another unfortunate development — first-round pick Datone Jones played pretty extensively, but was pretty much invisible. Jones has been dealing with an ankle injury and he might still be dealing with it.
We get it, he needs to learn, but is he going to be of any use to the Packers at 75 percent?
Probably not.
So, here we go. Into the regular season hoping our starters are, A. better than everyone else’s and B. don’t ever get injured. Then we’ve got a shot.
www.totalpackers.com/2013/08/29/packers-continue-trend-suck-balls-preseason-finale/