I'm not sure about you guys, but I never thought our defense would be our strongest unit this year. I thought we might be in a bit of trouble with Kampman and Harris going down, but so far guys have been able to come in and step up. What's most impressive to me is the play of Brad Jones. When he initially started at LOLB for Kampman against Dallas, he was great in coverage but was lacking rushing the passer. It's been kind of a common theme on this blog the past few weeks that our pass rush needs to improve. Specifically, at LOLB. Well Jones sure answered the call tonight.

He had a sack and got pressure on Flacco many times while going against a very good RT in Michael Oher. What really surprised me was the pressure we were able to put on the Ravens tonight. We collapsed the pocket a number of times, and even had some success getting to Flacco when only rushing three guys.

How about B.J. Raji!? The trend of Raji making big time plays is becoming more and more noticeable. The more playing time he gets, the more big plays we see out him. His size and athleticism continue to impress me, and I really have no doubt he is going to turn into a top 3-4 d-lineman barring any injuries.

And there is one more fellow rookie that continues to impress...Clay freakin' Matthews. And too think I was actually a bit skeptical about TT trading up to draft him..He had 2 sacks tonight, giving him 7 on the year and seems to improve more and more every week. He has been good rushing the passer all year but what is most impressive about him is his all round ability. He can cover, he can stuff the run, and he has the rare ability to finish plays off plays.

How about Thompson's 2008 draft? It has resulted in 3 defensive starters, who all appear to have very bright futures with our team. So much for him "not being able to evaluate talent" or "not being able to draft" right?

Then factor in Woodson (who really should be considered for the MVP award), Jenkins, and Collins. This defense really is the real deal and I think we've done enought against two very good offenses to prove that.

P.S.- Don't look now but Hawk is actually starting to look like a very good LB... 

What's up 49ers fans? I just wanted to come over here and talk a little bit about Sunday's upcoming game. I actually have a good friend of mine who is a die-hard 49ers fan and we talked a little bit about the game earlier in the week. I have some questions for you guys if you don't mind.

1. I'm really curious about Alex Smith. I know he came in a few weeks ago and threw 3 Td passes but I have heard he has struggled since. My friend who is a 9ers' fan said he has been throwing the ball pretty well but has had some unlucky breaks. What do all you guys think?

2. That defense of yours really impresses me. I've only seen your games against the Vikes and the Bears and in both games your defense looked tremendous. I love the combination of Willis and Spikes in the middle, and I wish we had some hard nosed ILBs. Is there a particular strength of defense? Do you they do better against the run or the pass, or is it pretty balanced?

3. How is your pass rush off of the edges? As you guys probably know, our o-line is very weak, and has given up the majority of our sacks against is to De/Olb's.

4. And last but not least, what do you think the outcome of this weekend's game will be? My 9ers' friend said he thought it would be 24-17 with Gore, Crabtree, and Davis each getting a Td. I personally feel the end result will be a 24-14 win in our favor.

I was just watching Monday Night Countdown and Adam Schefter reported that the Packers had former Packer running back Ahman Green in for a workout. Of course I know this doesn't mean we're going to sign him but it did make me think a bit about it.

I'm not really sure what to think about it. At this point he is 32, and has been out of football since mid last season. I'm skeptical as too how much he has left in those legs but who knows. But I also think this could be a good fit. He is familiar with the blocking schemes, and definitely has better vision then Grant.

Now while our o-line has been horrendous pass blocking, they have been about average against the run. By no means are they dominating opppsing d-lines but they do open up some holes for us here and there. The only problem is Grant never seems to see these holes.

We have brought a few running backs into workout these past few weeks, and that tells me that MM and TT see a problem with our situation at running back as well. A lot of people, inculding myself, have said we are one big player away from getting to the next level. So the question that arises for me is why don't we trade for a proven running back?

Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and Steven Jackson are some guys that come to mind and are in situations where a trade could happen. If you look at our team, the only position we really need at this point are some o-lineman. Though I desperately think we need our 1st round pick next year (to use on an T), I think there is a way we could put together a good package for one of these guys. Both teams are lacking at the LB position, so why not give up Hawk, maybe a 2nd and 4th rounder in the 2010 draft, and then a 1st round pick in the 2011 draft?

Imagine what having one of those guys could do for our team. We have been lacking a run game since the beginning of the 08' season, and it has showed. If we could got one of these guys our run game would likely open up, and help out our passing game. And it could really help our protection problems. Right now teams know we are likely going to pass. If we had one of the Jackson's or Lynch in the backfield defenses would have to respect that, and wouldn't be able to just pin their ears back.

Just read an article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel site that said Tauscher and the Packers are very close to agreeing on a deal.

Obviously, I think this is a huge deal. Barbre sucks. I really don't know how else to put it. Tauscher was good last year until his injury, and Campen said he looked good in his workout (though that doesn't really mean much). Clifton will be back after our bye week, and hopefully Tauscher will be in good enough shape to be starting by week 7, and if not definitely by week 8.

Clifton still is a good LT, and I have to think Tauscher will be better then Barbre. This will also enable us to put Spitz back at C, which will help our run blocking. I also hope Lang plays at LG. Colledge's injury last night didn't look minor, and I would guess he'll be out for a while. If he indeed is then Lang should replace him. He looked good last night, and his natural position is believed to be LG.

All of us wanted TT do something and by going out and signing Tauscher he has done that. I know it doesn't seem like much but Tauscher was one of the best, if not the best available RT in free agency. This move gives me some hope that our oline may actually be able to improve, and if that happens we will see Rodgers throwing for 300+ yards a lot more.

Here is the link to the article I found...http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/63648362.html

I'm disappointed at our play but I also am kind of ok with everything. We have a lot to improve on and that's clear, but it was positive that we were able to stop the best running back in the league. Raji played much more tonight and looked very good. Matthews continues to look like he is going to become something special as well. The run defense looked great, but the pass defense did not. First and foremost Favre had way too much time. On one play he had 7.5 seconds!! That is ridiculous. I was hoping for more pressure but it never came. It's also clear we need to get Kampman with his hand in the dirt rushing the passer more. The guy is a pass rusher, having him drop back 20 yards in coverage just doesn't play to his strengths. Martin looks like he has some potential but it's clear he still isn't very comfortable out there. Getting Bigby back will be huge for us. Caper's will bring more blitzes, which is what we need and there won't be as many lapses in coverage.

Another thing that really killed us was turnovers. Having the ball in their territory 3 times, and not coming up with any points is unacceptable. The blame for the fumble is on Rodgers. Of course it didn't help that Colledge completely wiffed on Allen, but Rodgers has to make sure he holds on to that ball. The interception is also on Rodgers though the play was a terrible play call. You run a comeback or out route on the far side of the field so the wide receiver has space to work with, not to the short side of the field. And the third drive with no points is all on MM and Grant. On that screen pass all Grant had to do was cut it up at the 5 yard line and he walks into the endzone. Instead he goes outside, and then cuts it back to late.

And now it's time to look at MM. On first down he calls a nice play actually. A draw to Grant which gets 3 yards and would probably have been a TD if Grant had any lower body strength. On 2nd down we hand it off to Kuhn, which again I have no problem with. He only had one guy to beat and couldn't do so. So the ball is now at the half yard line on 3rd and goal. Now I'm no rocket scientist but isn't the obvious call a QB sneak? You don't want to hand it off because that gives the Williams' time to bust through the line, and I would think passing would be out of the question also. But lone behold, MM calls a PA, and we end up losing half a yard. So we then go 5 WR, and Rodgers throw one right to Lee's gut and he drops it. That changed the game right there. Had we kicked a FG or scored a TD like we should have, it's a whole different ball game.

I actually did like MM's play-calling throughout the majority of the game. We ran some nice screen passes (which we NEVER ever do), and we started off passing short to open the deep routes up, and to try and hide our oline problems. Looking at this game, I actually feel pretty confident about our next matchup. If we score on one of those 3 squandered opportunities in their territory who knows what could have happened. For the most part our offense moved the ball at will against their defense. Rodgers went for 384 yards, despite having Allen breathing down his back all game. I really kind of feel bad for the guy. Sure, he holds the ball too long sometimes, but keep in mind tonight was only his 20th start. He really looks like a veteran out there, and if we can manage to put an o-line around him, it could be scary to see what he could do.

On a side note, there are some players who I noticed tonight. The first, was Antoine Winfield. I have to say I have never thought he was too good in coverage but he proved me wrong tonight. The guy is an all-around player. The second was T.J. Lang. He looked much better then Colledge tonight and was seeing his first NFL action going against arguably the best defensive end in football.  The third, was B.J. Raji. He played a lot more tonight and looked really good. He was getting good penetration pretty much every time I watched him, and was doing it against Hutchinson who is probably the best Guard in the league. The fourth, was Ryan Grant. It's clear he needs to go. The guy just has no vision. Our oline actually opened up some holes for him, but he never seemed to see any of them. In our zone blocking scheme we need a guy who is quicker, and can make fast upfield cuts. Grant cannot do that. The fifth, was none other then Brett Favre. As much as it pains me to say it, the guy still has it. I think things could have been different had he had any pressure on him throughout the game but he didn't. As much I go against Favre, and say I dislike him and all that, there is still a part of me that has some respect for him.

That's my analysis of the game I guess. Sorry it was so long, and if you read through the whole thing then I'm pretty impressed haha. Would love some feedback on some things you guys thought were big throughout the game.

So due to living in MN I didn't get to see our game. I actually found an online stream at the beginning of the 2nd half, and then it was taken down :( just 3 plays later haha. So I'm curious..Did the offense look better and more in sync? The numbers we put up would indicate that we did but a lot of those plays came from deep shots by Rodgers. Also how did the line look? I know Barbe gave up 2 sacks to Little early but from what I've heard he looked much better after that. Did Colledge look better this?

On defense I don't really know where to begin. I'm probably most interested in Raji and how he played. I'm not so much concerned with his stats, but rather how consistent he got penertation (if he did). So if anybody payed partiuclar attention to that let me know. Also, from what the other guys were saying in our game thread our ILBs looked terrible. It sounds like the dline did a pretty good job up front holding their own but the ILBs weren't able to come up and make stops. Is that how it was or no? I

 was disheartened to see that the Rams scored two TDs on us in the 1st half but the defense did only give them 3 points in the 2nd. Did it look like we actually made adjustments for once at half? What were the reasons we were more successful in the 2nd half then the first? And then last two things I'm curious about are how Bishop and Martin (I think that's his name. The new starting SS) looked? I know the guys I were listening to on a Packers radio broadcast were impressed with Bishop. They didn't really say much about Martin but for secondary guys that's generally a good thing.

Just some questions I had. Basically I guess I just want kind of a summary as you can only get so much just looking at stats and listening to the game on the radio.

The Pack signed Giordano,  and released Rouse to make room for him...Great, so we're still thin at safety as we just swapped Giordano for Rouse. Why not cut Bush if you want to cut a safety? I think this is going to end up being a big mistake for TT. Rouse had potential. He had work to do as far as pass coverage goes but is a good run stopper. I'm praying to god Collins can play this week, and am hoping to see him and a lot of Giordano as opposed to Collins and Bush.

Here is the link: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AhnQ1DxCcbSp2sAEO.1ynDb.uLYF?slug=ap-packers-moves&prov=ap&type=lgns 

So it seems every ones opinion on our team and how our year will turn out is pretty up and down. I still don't really know what to think. We have the talent to be a playoff team and that's obvious, but there are a few things holding us back...

So obviously are biggest struggle thus far has been our o-line. Rodgers has been sacked 10 times already this year and pressured pretty much every play. Barbre struggled big time at RT week 1 but to his credit improved a bit week 2. What really hurt the o-line against Cincy was Clifton going down. We consequently had to shift our whole line putting Wells at C, Spitz at LG, and moving Colledge to LT. Colledge was pretty horrible at LT but to his credit that isn't his natural position, and he has actually been pretty good this year at LG. If our offense is ever going to get going then we're going to need the o-line to give Rodgers some time. Whether that means leaving Grant and Lee back to block, or changing blocking schemes I don't know but I do know we need to change something.

As far as our defense goes that have been "two-faced" so far this year. In week 1 the defense was a very pleasant surprise, and really got us the win. The d-line looked great, especially Jenkins and Jolly, and the blitz packages we brought seemed to always work. We forced Cutler into 4 INTs, and held Forte to an average of 2.2 ypc. We were kind of the exact opposite week 2. We gave up 5.1 ypc to Benson, letting him run all over us for 141 yards, and while our secondary was pretty good getting us 2 INTs, and essentially 14 points, we still allowed Palmer to get way too much. I have a few reasons for why we seemed to struggle so much but I'm certainly no NFL coach so bare with me..

I'm not sure about anyone else but I noticed when watching our defense on run plays it seemed like everywhere aside from where the Bengals were running the ball was swarming with guys. I would see a group of 5-6 guys on both sides of the whole where Benson was running, and would think sweet their about to get him..but instead he seemed to consistently get 3-5 yards. I think there might be a reason for this. I read an article earlier about how the Bengals were "overload blocking" to where they were running. This seems to explain to me why I was seeing guys everywhere but the hole the Bengals were running too. They did a nice job of controlling the gaps they were running to and picking up our blitzes.

The second thing is the Bengals are accustomed to seeing the 3-4 in about half of there games each year. So obviously they have more experience against it, and probably have a better understanding of where the blitzes are coming from, and how the 3-4 attacks their protection schemes. I think this made a difference because all of the blitzes we seemed to run against Chicago worked to perfection, so when I saw our guys up by the line I was excited and was expecting to see the pressure get there the same way against the Bears but again this didn't happen..They picked our blitzes up pretty well, and for the most part really neutralized them.

The third thing is having Rouse and Bush (my least favorite player as some of you probably know) back at safety instead of Bigby and Collins. With Bigby and Collins in there, Caper's seemed comfortable blitzing just about every play, and it seemed to work almost every single play. When Bigby went down against the Bears, Capers became noticeably more conservative in his play-calling. So when Collins went down against Cincy I knew we were in trouble. Caper's got very conservative basically only bringing 4-5 guys to pressure Palmer and dropping the rest back into coverage.

Despite these negative things I feel like we still have some hope left. If we can get Clifton back, and our o-line can continue to gel together, I hope they'll be able to step up and protect a little better. The biggest thing though is Clifton. He is a very good pass blocker (containing Alex Brown against the Bears week 1, who had a huge game against the Steelers with 2 sacks and a few QB pressures.) The o-line has actually been pretty good as far as run blocking goes. Grant looked good against the Bears, and against the Bengals he looked good, getting a couple 8 yard runs, and a good number of 3-5 yard gains. MM got away from the run though as the game went on (like he always seems to do). If this o-line can find a way to give Rodgers just a second or two more, I think we'll see the explosive offense we were all expecting.

Getting Collins and Bigby back on defense is huge. Hopefully Bigby will be back for week 4, and Collins will back this week. The defense also needs to concentrate on tackling, as many times against Cincy we were there to make a stop in the backfield but just couldn't bring Benson down.

I still have hope that we can be a playoff team this year. I think our defense will continue to improve as the year goes on, and our offense will show up as well. With that being said how do you guys think the season will play out? Also, am I way off base as far as why we have struggled these first 2 weeks or do you agree?

I know my post was long (as they usually are) but once I get started talking about my beloved Packers I just keep going, and going. If you read through the whole thing thanks, and I hope it was somewhat enjoyable.

So I was just over on the Pride of Detroit, and ran across an interesting thread. Apparently the Steelers are strongly considering releasing Casey Hampton, who has been their NT for the last couple years in their 3-4 defense. I'm sure you guys now know where I'm going with this..If we have any chance to possibly pick this guy up, we should definitely do it. He is a proven NT in the 3-4, and is probably the best one in the league. I know our d-lineman all have looked great, but signing Hampton could give us some unbelieveable depth. Imagine Jenkins at RE, Hampton at NT, and Raji at LE. Then Pickett, and Jolly coming off of the bench. I have a hard time believing the Steelers would really release Hampton because he is such a great player, but this link backs this rumor up.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/09/02/case-hampton-on-the-outs/

I really don't know what else to say but wow. I found a live feed on the interent at my girl's house, and watched the first half of the Cards game. I don't even know where to begin! Haha

Offense- They look great. Rodgers on a 34 yard scamper haha? Is it just me or does he look MUCH more mobile? He looks a lot better then last year. He is more patient, he is keeping plays alive, and he made some great audibles resulting in positive plays for the offense. He really can do it all, and I think this year is going to catapult him up into that elite class with Brady, Manning, and Brees. All the WRs look great. Driver is his usual self doing it all. Jennings one play out there was a great one. Nelson with a few catches, and a TD. Jones looking like his old self. I don't know if anyone on the team has better hands then him. How about Finley? This guy is a stud. 1 on 1 with Rodgers-Cromartie, and comes up with the TD. All the RBs looked great. Grant looked really good to me. He ran hard and always seemed to fall forward for 2-3 yards after being hit. I love how Rodgers is scrambling around keeping plays alive. The o-line looks much bigger, and is actually moving defensive fronts backwards on running plays (never saw that last year). The TEs also did a great job of blocking as well. The offense really looks like they can do it all. I know it's preseason but I heard the announcers say the Cardinals 1st string defense had not given up a point in their previous two games. We sure as hell ended that tonight.

Defense- This is what really got me most excited. I wanted to see how our defense would do against Warner, Fitz, and Boldin. I wasn't sure how we would do to be perfectly honest, but boy did the defense far surpass my expectations. We caused 3 TOs in the 1st half, against arguably the best offense in the league. I love what Capers has done to the defense. It's so uptempo, agressive, and unpredicatable. There always seems to be 7-8 guys up by the LOS, and you never know whose coming and whose not. I saw us in the 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5, and 1-5-5. This is exactly what we need because each one plays to certain players strengths. Honestly, Warner didn't know how to handle the pressure, and looked really confused when we came out in the 1-5-5. (He ended up getting sacked and fumbled. Williams picked it up but did not establish possession, as he only had 1 foot in bounds.)

The players that really stood out to me in the new system were Woodson, Jenkins, Jolly, Hawk, Chillar, Kampman, Collins, and A. Smith. Woodson forced two fumbles, recovering one himself, and was all over the field. Jenkins was getting in the backfield on almost every play. Jolly got great penetration as well, and made a great tackle to save what probably would have been a first down on a dump off to Hightower. Hawk looked really good against the run. Chillar is probably who surprised me the most. He is a great blitzer, and was good against the run and pass. This new uptempo system really seems to fit his style, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting next to Barnett week 1. Kampman looked good dropping back into coverage, and brought some good pressure off the edge. He also looked great as a DE in the 4-2-5, as we would expect him too. Collins had some nice pass deflections, and seemed to have a lot of tackles. Smith is the SS we picked up from the Steelers this offseason, and he looked great. He laid the wood on a Cards receiver coming over the middle (causing him to drop the ball), and then had a INT, returning it to the Cards 10. Which resulted in a Rodgers TD pass. I think he might be able too challenge Bigby for the starting job. I love how aggressive Capers is in his play calling, and with the ballhawkers we got in the secondary, I am expecting us to have a lot of takeaways this season.

There really weren't too many negatives but I did notice a few. Crosby missed what I thought would be a little chip shot for him. I'm not sure how far away it exactly was, but it was no more the 40 yards. Looked like Ruvell Martin (yes you read right) didn't get the ball down great for him though. Which made me wonder, why in the hell is Ruvell Martin the holder haha?? The defense gives up the big play every once in a while because sometimes the blitzes get picked up, but I think the big plays we create from our pressure will favor us more so then the opposition.

All and all, I'm really excited. The fact that our defense looked this good against the Cards high powered offense really seems promising too me. The combination of getting all of our defensive players back healthy, and our new defensive system has so far proved to be crucial for us. I can't wait to see how the regular season turns out for us this coming year.

P.S.- Sorry this post is so long, and enthusiastic, but I was more then pleased with what I saw tonight.