The Packer Pundit

Packers win preseason opener 13-9
Despite little help from No. 1 offense
By Rob Demovsky / greenbaypressgazette.com / Story Link
PITTSBURGH - This wasn't the unmitigated disaster that was last year's preseason opener in San Diego, but it was terrifyingly close - at least for the Green Bay Packers' starting offense. Signs of significant progress - the kind that would give the Packers reason to think they can start the 2007 season with a flurry - were nowhere to be found during the meaningful portions of Saturday's preseason opener against Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Sure, the Packers rallied for a 13-9 victory to match their preseason win total from a year ago, but it was with little help from the No. 1 offense. In four series, Brett Favre and the rest of the starters managed nary a first down, had a fumbled center-quarterback exchange and a holding penalty on left guard Daryn Colledge. "We certainly hope they're better than what they showed," Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said of his starting group. "I think they are, but we've got to start faster and play more physical, that's for sure."

Little was revealed about the running game given that Favre threw on five of the first six plays. Favre completed just 2 of 7 passes for 7 yards, had a passer rating of 39.6 and was hit once by Steelers Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, who slipped by running back Noah Herron on a blitz. In three running plays with the starting offensive line, rookie running back Brandon Jackson had gains of 4, 1 and 3 yards. "I thought it was important for Brett to get some reps with the young receivers, so we did some run-pass (options) at the line that ended up leaning toward the pass," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Execution wasn't what we liked, obviously, but I thought it was a good night's work. Offensively, everything that happened out there in the negative category is definitely fixable."

A year ago in the preseason opener against the Chargers, Favre took 20 snaps and was sacked twice and hit at least three more times in a 17-3 loss. The Packers' starting defense - minus cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson, who remained back in Green Bay due to nagging injuries - played all of one series. On the third play of that series, Cullen Jenkins came from his new right defensive end position and sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He stripped the ball from Roethlisberger and recovered the fumble. Mass substitutions began the next time the Packers' defense took the field. Backup safeties Atari Bigby and Marviel Underwood replaced starters Nick Collins and Marquand Manuel, and wholesale changes were made up front. Jenkins played parts of the first four series and finished with two sacks. However, the Steelers (1-1 in the preseason) were missing three of their five starters on the offensive line, and starting running back Willie Parker also was held out. Steelers rookie coach Mike Tomlin played his No. 1 offense for only two series, and Roethlisberger completed his only two passes for 14 yards.

The Packers' defense had a couple of breakdowns in the first half, but it was with mostly backups on the field. One play after Jenkins' second sack, backup quarterback Charlie Batch threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to receiver Walter Young on a third-and-17 play. The Packers appeared to be playing zone coverage out of their nickel (five defensive backs) package on the play. Backup linebacker Tracy White released Young into the secondary, but no one picked him up. Bigby missed a touchdown-saving tackle at around the 15-yard line.

On the Steelers' first possession of the second quarter, Batch hooked up with Santonio Holmes for a 49-yard completion to set up a field goal that gave Pittsburgh a 9-0 lead. Holmes ran by backup cornerback Will Blackmon and neither safety - Bigby or Underwood - could catch up with Holmes. How much it mattered that Packers backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked sharp is debatable. Playing with and against a bunch of backups, Rodgers calmly ran the two-minute offense at the close of the first half. He moved the offense from its 11-yard line with 1:52 seconds remaining into field goal range, where incumbent kicker Dave Rayner converted a 32-yarder that made it 9-3 Steelers at halftime.

Rodgers, the third-year backup, played through the third quarter and finished with one of his most impressive preseason performances. He completed 18-of-27 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown and had a 95.9 passer rating. He gave the Packers a 10-9 lead with 9:11 left in the third quarter when he capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive by throwing a 3-yard touchdowns to Carlyle Holiday on a fade pass to the left corner of the end zone. "He was composed in the pocket, his ball accuracy was good and his decision-making for the most part was good," McCarthy said. "I was impressed with him in the two-minute drill. I thought he had a nice night."

Jackson got the bulk of his work (16 carries, 57 yards) with the No. 2s and No. 3s. Fellow rookie James Jones caught a team-high six passes for 58 yards. Among the more impressive performances was the 52-yard field goal by rookie Mason Crosby that capped the scoring with 3:25 left in the third quarter. "Trying a long one the first time in an NFL game is a pretty cool experience," Crosby said. "I knew it was going (through) from the second I hit it. Those are always good ones to hit." Rookie Justin Harrell, the Packers' first-round draft pick, made his NFL debut with 5:01 left in the second quarter. The defensive tackle recorded three tackles and in the third quarter sacked third-string quarterback Brian St. Pierre. McCarthy said the only injuries were to Underwood (hamstring) and third-string quarterback Ingle Martin (blow to the head).




Additional Game Links --
Game Stats
No Obvious Ground Gained in Victory
First-string offense has sputtering start
Jenkins impressive in preseason opener
Split decision for Jackson's debut
Rodgers shows what he can do
Rodgers, Rookies Lead Packers Over Steeler
Rodgers solid in 2007 debut