Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders – 2014 Preseason Game Three – GB 31 OAK 21
GAME NOTES:
Aaron Rodgers should get a quarter of work tonight with the first team offense. Will they look as good as they did vs. the Titans?
A few guys who have flashed will be getting a longer look tonight: Mike Pennell, Jumal Rolle, Jayrone Elliot. Do they make the team tonight?
Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:
Offense vs. the Rams: I was very pleased with the first offense performance. They’ve been very consistent through training camp. This will be a good test against a Raider 1st team defense with a lot of veterans out there.
3rd preseason game dress rehearsal: Able to get on a season schedule, get them acclimated. in a route, ready for the regular season especially with our season starting early.
Shorter practices this week: Reality is, with the no huddle, we’re practicing faster. Execution and productivity and tempo have all been what we want them to be.
Playing starters: Play time set on number of plays, but we also look at productivity. if you’re really high on productivity and you hit your highs early, then you can move on to the other players.
making the roster: 3rd game is still the most important game. Evaluation process is so important. Big night for a lot of players.
backup QB battle: They’re both battling. It’s gone very well. They’ve both improved. Comfort level with the offense, efficiency – I’ve been very pleased with their progress.
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Packers vs. Raiders- First Impressions – First Half:
Thanks to the omnipotent NFL, even though the Packers game was a CBS National game, and I buy Sunday Ticket, AND I pay for NFL Preseason Live, I couldn’t watch this game legally. Giants -Jets were on CBS here, and GB-OAK was blacked out on NFL Preseason live.
So, I missed the first two drives of the game while I scrambled for an illegal stream. Thanks NFL, just want you want, right?
My apologies – it’s pretty difficult to distinguish who’s who watching on small window on my PC. So, probably won’t have as much line play observations this week.
So, we pick things up with the Packers second possession…
Whoa – a good amount of pass rush pressure by the Raiders.
Peppers with a sack! Beat his man easily.
Packers defense flying around – three and out.
Rodgers with the short dump-off to James Starks continues to look just awful. Not on the same page.
Raiders run a simple stunt and Woodley untouched to Rodgers. Sitton sleeping on the play.
Have to say, Hawk does seem to be attacking more this preseason instead of sitting back. Change in attitude or scheme?
illegal stream cut out for a bit… Come back and Packers at Oakland 12, 4th and 3. Raiders blitz and Packers pick it up.
Raji leaves game with an arm injury.
DuJuan Harris running like the old DuJaun tonight after not doing much in previous two games.
A lot of pre-snap calls from Rodgers I’ve never heard before. I’d assume they will not be used for the Seahawks game.
Khalil Mack’s speed giving Bulaga a tough time. The rookie looks good.
Davon House is solid as hell. Packers secondary in dime defense will be killer.
Micah Hyde is the Packers’ Fail Mary secret weapon this year.
Score at end of 1st half: GB 22 OAK 7
Packers vs. Raiders – First Impressions – Second Half:
Demetri Goodson ensuring he is practice squad material at best as he loses a receiver and soon after called for a penalty. I think the Packers will want to keep him. That kind of athlete is worth trying to develop.
Carl Bradford got the snaps at LOLB on Raiders first drive of the second half.. Got some pressure, but doesn’t seem to have pass rushing moves, though. Just a straight outside rush every time.
The Packers can move on from Matt Flynn. It. Is. Time.
DuJuan Harris with a fantastic blitz pickup coming from the left to pickup and edge blitzer on the right.
Former Packer Brandian Ross with a hard hit on Davante Adams, who can’t hold on to the pass.
Derek Sherrod with a successful first series at left tackle. Exhale…
Watching Jayrone Elliot and Carl Bradford. No contest. Elliot has actual pass rushing moves and is in the backfield almost every play. Bradford nothing of the sort.
Sherrod working at right tackle now. Been solid all night.
If Alex Gillett doesn’t make in in this league, he will always have that TD catch and the Lambeau Leap moment
Jumal Rolle looks like a keeper.
Final Score: GB 31 OAK 21
Final Thoughts:
So glad McCarthy has been going for two point conversions this preseason. They SO needed the practice.
Packers medical staff helping stabilize and lead Sio Moore off on a stretcher. Fans cheer him, he gives thumbs up. Is it dusty in here?
One thing I didn’t see with the Packers secondary tonight – wide open receivers. That’s something new.
Flynn not coming in until 4 minutes left in the half? More snaps for Rodgers than I expected.
I’m feeling good about this defense. Playing at higher speed and much more aggressive.
Time to move on from Matt Flynn. Defenses know what he can and can’t do. Not going to surprise anyone anymore.
Jayrone Elliot has made this team.
Please don’t tell me the two point conversion attempts have messed up Crosby’s psyche…
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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I think House looks great too but he’s historically struggled in zone over man, right? I’d be interested seeing him there but he definitely seems to be progressing.
Harris will be your #2 if Starks keeps declining and Harris keeps ascending. Good stuff although I’m a big Harris fan. I think Starks has utility, just very limited.
Agree with Wags, Harris looked much better than Starks tonight. Starks – after how many years? – still looks lost at times. And his pass catching needs work. Not that there isn’t a role for JS, but I like what Harris brings.
The D just looks more dynamic this year. Very few times they get stoned at the line, unlike last year. Just a different feel about their pass rushing potential.
And did Oakland just not block Elliott, or is he really that good? The 15 yard sack was a thing of beauty. No way he makes the PS.
Keep Tolzien and move on from Flynn. Flynn will be there later in the year if we need him. If teams wanted him other than GB, he would have been taken last year. I think the Packers will keep both however, and if they do it will be interesting who they activate on game-day.
James Starks is better than Dujuan Harris until proven otherwise. But DH still more than worth keeping, especially after tonight. A Lacy, Starks, Harris trio might be the best in the NFL. Only Buffalo and Kansas City even compare IMO.
I feel more confident about this team with each passing game. The bad news is that the Seacocks have looked just as good. If the Pack actually go into that game pissed and treat it like a playoff game like they ought to be, they have a solid chance of winning. The game against Houston comes to mind. But it will be a tough one no doubt.
Agree, Starks might not be the receiver that Harris is, but we are lucky that he’s our back-up. I’ve seen worse starters.
Had the same problem Al. Hate to ask but have to… what stream were you using to watch the game? email me.
Sorry I couldn’t watch. Came on at 3:00 AM in Nairobi. Glad to get your comments on the game, and positive report on D. I take it all in perspective, cuz it is the Raiders afterall. But great individual matchups that are good sign.
Elliot made his case to be kept ahead of Bradford, mulumba, Palmer and Hubbard. Tolzein over Flynn. Rolle over goodson. Harris made himself indispensable. House looked good. Stoneburner a pleasant surprise. Sherrod ditto. Hardest decisions are looking like which olb to keep and whether to keep 2 or 3 qbs. I vote for 2.
Now that I’ve had a chance to see Tolzien play, I agree it’s time to let Flynn go. He wasn’t in sync with the offense tonight.
At the beginning of TC I would have kept Flynn over Tolzien just based on the command of the offense Flynn showed last season. Now, I think GB is better served with Tolzien as the #2 QB. A full off-season in GB and a full TC are serving Tolzien well.
your pre-camp thought were accurate, but Tolzein has now shown enough comfort back there that you have to keep the guy who can actually make throws. Sorry, Matt.
Perry, Neal and Peppers all showed up. Elliott was the bonus! Secondary had tight coverage. House was great. hope to get Hayward back for season opener. DL continues to do a good job vs run and get some pressures v pass.
Offense was not as sharp this week though running game did well enough. Missed Bostick but other TEs stepped up. Cobb seemed off as did pass blocking of starting OL. Sitton missed stunt. Sherrod was good in relief.
Gillett fighting for that 6th WR spot. Where was Janis? Sheppard?
Goodbye Matt Flynn. Ditto Goodson and Bradford.
On to next week.
I think Goodson will be a good corner for the Packers, but he is not ready yet. A season on the PS would be ideal.
I hope that Bradford can become the player that was hoped for, but he is not showing much yet. Maybe he can develop on PS as well.
The problem with Bradford, IMO, is that he’s built for ILB. The guy seriously looks like Nick Barnett reincarnated. But MM being MM, he stubbornly refuses to accept that.
The coaching staff overall is pretty good, but time to time we see this. They have an idea of how things should be run, and they stick to it with pride. We’re seeing that here, IMO. They need to move him to ILB.
Tretter’s block on the first play of the second quarter, on the screen to Harris, was really impressive. He is showing up very well.
House played a great game as well.
A. Rodgers seemed to miss an unsusual number of throws, but the Raiders starting D looked more impressive than expected. Khalil Mack looks like the early leader for D rookie of the year.
Except for the injury to Raji’s arm I think that the Packers came through the game injury free. Hopefully Raji’s injury is not serious. OL looked great on opening drive, then manhandled a bit by Raider’s DL for 2 series, then strong again for 2 more scoring drives. Starting defense looks better overall. If not for missed tackles on TD run They may have shut out Raiders in 1st half. Starters look pretty much ready to go. Sherrod was solid at both OT spots. Harris looks fully recovered from his injury. All TEs looking good. Tolzien may be moving ahead of Flynn, but remember Tolzien is playing against 3rd stringers. Defense, I was very impressed with our DBs in general. What happened to Hayward? Hyde seems fine but Burnett and Dix still need some work. Overall, solid performance by the defense. Looks like MM has the team on track to start the season. Tough start with Seattle but it is what it is. Stay healthy and Go Pack Go! Thanks Since, ’61
I hope CM3 shows more in the regular season, which I’m sure he will. I also hope Raji and Hayward are not seriously injured
Actually CMIII has looked good to me.
So it wouldn’t be a season in GB if a major player wasn’t lost for the season! It appears that Raji tore his bicep and will be lost for the season!
If Pickett has lost weight (too old to be 340 anymore IMO), theoretically he can split snaps with the younger players, including Josh Boyd which you forgot to mention. Also, we don’t know the severity of the injury just yet. If it’s a minor tear, Raji will only miss a few weeks.
Chad,
I realize it’s not official but “inside sources” from NFL.com claim that it’s likely to be a complete tear. I realize we are possibly speculating here. I’m not sure Boyd is having a great camp either. I did see him get pancaked by Greg Robinson. Raji has a rare combination of mass, quick feet, balance, and intelligence. Some May question his work ethic or productivity but I think you will agree that he is all the things I’ve mentioned. His presence has been markedly visible in the pre-season and the amount of D line push we are getting is night and day compared to last year. Jolly was cleared, correct? He’s meaner than Pickett and plays the run very well. I think I would prefer him at NT but I’m not sure he’s played there before. I also don’t know if he’s in shape or even available? I think if Raji is out, it’s a huge blow to a much improved defense. Did you see how good Seattle looked last night?!
Ouch. Well, we’ll see how good Pennel, Thornton or Boyd are.
Thornton & Boyd are DE. Guion is #2 NT but is currently injured. Mike Pennel is the only other true NT on the roster. They’re going to have to re-sign Jolly or Pickett IMO
Jolly is also Raji’s size. Thornton and Boyd are listed as 2nd string DE on each side are considerably lighter than Raji. Guion is listed as #2 NT but he’s injured of course. It’s confirmed, Raji will miss the 2014 season!!
Johnny Jolly had a neck injury, the kind that retired Nick Collins, Jeremy Thompson, Terrence Murphy, etc. I would be surprised if he’d pass a physical.
Ryan Pickett is the guy you’d want at NT. He’s a better option at NT, even at his age, than Raji can be, right here, right now. However, I’m sure in is either already in, or will soon be in, rapid decline at this point.
While I can’t say I’m happy Raji is going to miss the season, I will say I’m relieved, because my worst fear was the Packers giving Raji a big, fat long term deal at the end of this season. I hope Pennell is ready to step up, at least until we find out if Guion can play the nose. I’d love to see Pickett resigned, but my gut tells me the Packers won’t resign him. Hope I’m wrong.
My guess is that the 2-pt. conversions have more to do with giving the team red zone snaps/practice than anything else, especially because that’s where the offense struggled last year.