Paul Bretl | 8/10/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers opened up the preseason with a win over the Cleveland Browns, although that doesn’t matter at all. What does matter is what took place on the field and the insights we gained that will ultimately play a role in determining playing time and roster spots.
Similarly to my observations article following each training camp practice, these are my gut reactions and instant takeaways to what took place on the football field today. Overall, a nice start for the Packers.
“I thought it was good to get back out there, and I know our guys, it’s been getting a little chippy in practice,” said Matt LaFleur after the game. “It was good to go up against somebody new. I loved how our guys competed in all three phases. I thought they put a lot of good tape out there. I thought the things that we were looking for in terms of the effort and running to the football and finishing, I thought it was on point. I’m sure there were some things we can work on and get better at but, all in all, it was great to see. We got everybody in the game and I thought everybody made contributions.”
Who was out? Below are the Packers players who did not suit up. According to Wes Hodkiewicz, Jaire Alexander was out for a personal matter. The only other player who didn’t participate but was practicing Thursday and not working his way back from an injury was Tyler Davis. Everyone else that was out was to be expected:
Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), Ty’Ron Hopper (ankle), Jordan Morgan (shoulder), and Donovan Jennings (knee), while Zach Tom and Tucker Kraft are eased back in following pec injuries early in the offseason.
MarShawn Lloyd would exit the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. He missed the first week of training camp with a hip injury.
It was one throw, but that 65 yard completion to Dontayvion Wicks from Jordan Love is a good example of the deep ball accuracy we have seen from Love during training camp. If you recall, that was a part of his game early on last year where he struggled. Also, Jayden Reed running a intermediate crosser from the slot grabbed the attention of the safety, leaving Wicks one-on-one with no help over the top.
“We had a great play dialed up for that situation,” said Jordan Love, “1-on-1 with Wicks in the slot, faking the handoff and he ran a great route, kind of lulled him to sleep at the top and then was able to go past him and (I) just put the ball out there for him and he made the rest happen. Great play by him.”
Who was starting on the offensive line? Without Morgan, Sean Rhyan was at right guard and with Tom not playing, Andre Dillard got the start at right tackle. On the second offensive line, we saw Dillard at left tackle, followed by Royce Newman, Rhyan, Jacob Monk, and Kadeem Telfort, which is what we’ve seen in camp. This second unit really settled in as they got more reps, with running back Emanuel Wilson benefitting from that.
We saw Wilson’s burst and playmaking potential last season and that was again on display. With Josh Jacobs and Lloyd on the roster, the ability of the third running back to hold up pass protection, impact the passing game, and help on special teams will be important factors when it comes to making the team, and those are areas where AJ Dillon is very sound. For what it’s worth, Dillon played only one series, which could give us some insight into his roster status. He has been RB2 all of camp.
“For the most part, I thought our guys were running hard,” added LaFleur. “I thought we were getting some movement up front. Certainly, would like to, when we have second-and-1 and we don’t convert and get stuffed on fourth down, there’s definitely some room for improvement there. But credit to them. They did a nice job. They had everybody up there on that fourth down; it was going to be quite the challenge.”
Caleb Jones and Sean Rhyan: Jones saw his first snaps late in the first half. He continues to be the third option at swing tackle, behind Dillard and Telfort. Jones has to get better in pass pro. Rhyan looked good at center and continues to be at his best as a run-blocker, with heavy hands and power. More consistency in pass protection is what Matt LaFleur and Adam Stenavich want to see from him.
Keeping Grant DuBose off the 53-man roster is going to be really challenging. DuBose continues to catch everything and running some really good routes to create separation. For more on DuBose’s offseason, click here. Along with making an impact as a pass-catcher, special teams and being able to help out in the run game will be important as well.
“Yeah definitely not surprising,” said Love of Dubose’s play. “Since we started camp, Grant’s been making plays every day. He’s been controlling what he can control when the ball comes to him. He’s making big-time plays. He’s knowing what he needs to do with his assignments in the blocking game and he’s just been a great player so far, so not a surprise what he did tonight. He’s been doing it all camp, so definitely looking forward to seeing more from him, but no, definitely was not surprised by it.”
Sean Clifford put together a nice performance. When in rhythm we are seeing the version of Clifford that impressed everyone last summer. With improved offensive line play over the last week-plus, Clifford is throwing on time, in rhythm, and not surprisingly, the results are much improved.
“Yeah, it was great,” said LaFleur of Clifford’s performance. “I thought there was a lot of good things. I’m not quite sure how many drives we got points on when he was out there, but you’d like to see us finish a little bit better in the red zone and not kick so many field goals. I thought the 2-minute operation was big time.
“There were some situational things that we got to work in terms of the two throwaways right before we went out there and kicked the field goal, I thought that was big time in terms of the execution so we didn’t have to kick off. You want to get that clock under 5 seconds and he was able to do that. Would like to only do one throwaway but we had to do two. But, all in all, just his command, his presence, the communication, the urgency in and out of the huddle I thought was pretty clean.”
Michael Pratt had a nice and efficient debut as well–appearing poised and not overwhelmed. He had a beautiful back shoulder throw to Julian Hicks and was a lead blocker on a big run by Wilson. Not necessarily a position you want your quarterback to be in regularly, but the effort is a wonderful thing. After the draft, Brian Gutekunst spoke about Pratt’s arm strength, and we saw that with him firing the ball into a few windows.
The Packers’ defensive front has often controlled the line of scrimmage in practice and I thought from the first unit to those playing in the fourth quarter did well making things uncomfortable for the Browns’ quarterbacks. The Packers finished with three sacks, four tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits.
The young safeties really impressed. Evan Williams just continues to make high impact plays, forcing a fumble to go along with the four interceptions he’s had during training camp. In addition to that, both Williams and Bullard were flying around making tackles, while Johnson had a nice play in the run game, taking on an offensive lineman, and forcing the ball carrier back inside. We also saw Bullard get the start next to Xavier McKinney and then he saw more slot snaps, with Bullard having more opportunities there the last week.
“He does, he does,” said LaFleur about Williams physical play-style. “I thought he played physical, too, and I thought that was – whether it was him, whether it was Bullard, Anthony Johnson, Zayne Anderson, Benny Sapp had a physical play, like I thought our safeties came and were physical today, and that’s what we need from those guys. Coyle was out there, so I thought all those guys showed some physicality that we desperately need on the back end.”
It was only a few series, but a nice start for Eric Stokes. He wasn’t targeted at all in coverage and made two plays near the line of scrimmage in the run game. Recently, Jeff Hafley complemented Stokes on the preseason he’s put together, and mentioned his play in the run game.
Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph alternated field goal/extra point attempts. They would each make their one extra point attempt, while Carlson made a 46 yard and 33 yard field goals, and Joseph was good from 35 yards. During minicamp, LaFleur mentioned that clarity around this competition may not begin until each kicker faces some high pressure situations. Both are off to a good start in that regard.
At cornerback, Corey Ballentine was the fourth cornerback–behind Alexander, Stokes, and Keisean Nixon–with Valentine out, which has been the case during training camp. When it comes to that final roster spot, special teams play will be a big factor, and that’s an area where Rochell is proven, as we saw on the tackle he made as a gunner on the punt coverage unit. Rochell also had two pass breakups in coverage. Kalen King continued to showcase the added physical presence he brings to the cornerback position, with most of his snaps coming from the slot. King versus Rochell will be a good competition for that sixth cornerback spot.
A really impressive showing for Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness. Both players forced multiple pressures, while Van Ness was also in on some tackles in the run game. Jeff Hafley certainly isn’t going to tip his hand in the preseason, but we got an additional glimpse of the stunt packages he’s going to use.
Daniel Whelan has been booming punts since OTAs. LaFleur recently spoke very highly about the offseason he’s put together.
“I think Daniel has had an outstanding offseason. In practices he’s kicking the crap out of the ball. Hopefully we only have to use him as a holder, but it’s probably not realistic. When you have a punter who’s capable of pinning an opposing offense deep, that is a real weapon. I think he’s progressing nicely. Now he’s got to go out and do it in games. From what he’s shown in practice, I’ve got a lot of confidence in seeing a huge step in the right direction for him.”
I’m not sure there’s a spot on the 53-man roster for Joel Wilson, but the last week we’ve really started to see him get his share of opportunities in the passing game with the second offense. He had three receptions for 30 yards and a nice block on a run by Wilson. Defensive end Arron Mosby also had a nice performance, making his way into the backfield on a few occasions.
Long-snapper Peter Bowden took over for Matt Orzech in the fourth quarter on a Daniel Whelan punt. Wes Hodkiewicz would also note that on the Packers’ first kickoff, they used nine defensive backs and linebacker Eric Wilson.