Week 1 

Week 2 Chart 

Not the prettiest game to watch and quite frankly, it's just our defensive backfield that has looked sloppy. While we haven't gotten a TON of pressure on the quarterback, the results shown suggest that we are getting some. What seemed liked a quiet game for Matthews was actually a lot better than advertised. Here were the plays in which Matthews was directly involved in the backfield as I saw it:

1. 1Q (HIT): 3-6-CAR 42 (13:09) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass short right to 80-J.Shockey to GB 40 for 18 yards (24-J.Bush) [52-C.Matthews].
2. 1Q (HURRY): 1-10-GB 26 (9:13) 1-C.Newton pass short middle to 34-D.Williams to GB 23 for 3 yards (93-E.Walden).
3. 1Q (HURRY): 3-4-GB 5 (8:18) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass short middle to 28-J.Stewart to GB 2 for 3 yards (55-D.Bishop).
4. 2Q (HIT): 3-3-CAR 25 (8:31) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton sacked at CAR 12 for -13 yards (55-D.Bishop).
5. 2Q (HURRY): 1-10-CAR 32 (3:50) 1-C.Newton scrambles up the middle to CAR 39 for 7 yards (93-E.Walden).
6. 2Q (HURRY): 1-10-GB 41 (:37) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass incomplete short right to 11-B.LaFell.
7. 3Q (HURRY): 2-9-CAR 21 (11:50) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass short right intended for 89-S.Smith INTERCEPTED by 21-C.Woodson at CAR 25. 21-C.Woodson to CAR 20 for 5 yards (89-S.Smith).
8. 3Q (1/2 HURRY): 1-10-CAR 23 (5:37) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass incomplete deep right to 17-L.Naanee (42-M.Burnett).
9. 4Q (SACK): 1-10-GB 12 (5:22) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton sacked at GB 12 for 0 yards (52-C.Matthews).

Of his 9 backfield disruptions, the plays included 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 teammate sack, and 1 3rd down stop. Not that bad of a game. For the record, I count a hurry as a play in which the pass rusher directly impacts the quarterback in making a meaningful decision.

As for the secondary, looks like Newton had no problem going after Woodson in this game. As I said before the game, I wasn't surprised that Woodson got the brunt of the Steve Smith work this week. I'm not sure he's anymore of the best cover corners in the game. He's still a tremendously impactful player, but not the type of guy Tramon is and certainly not close to the level of Darrelle or Nnamdi in that regard either. Still a terrific player, but I think we are starting to see a bit of a downhill progression.

Burnett looked very good once again. He got a number of single high opportunities and did a nice job showing range. He had his fair share of 1v1 match-ups on the perimeter as well. Aside from allowing the 34 yard completion to Olsen in which he was essentially beat off the snap, he held his own in a variety of assignments. Looking forward to hopefully seeing him become a player for us over the upcoming season. With Nick gone, he's going to be a pivotal part of our defense. Peprah simply doesn't have the range to make me comfortable if he's sitting in a single high over top. I really hope our corners step it up if we're going to be using him consistently in that role.

Our linebackers continue to do a nice job controlling traffic underneath for the most part. They get great depth in their zone drops protecting the second level, but can be occasionally vulnerable to underneath crossing routes. Saw some confusion there this week allowing a couple guys to streak open. A couple of the completions marked "Other" should have been penciled in on their watch, but camera angles didn't allow for it.

Bottom line, we have plenty to improve. While the pass rush is a concern, I'm slightly more concerned with the general state of our secondary. Tramon should be a HUGE boost and judging by this game, we'll need it.

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Very nice job man great info

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dang. Didn't you just say last week that Woodson hasn't lost a step? Hopefully, this was just an off game (which sounds odd saying this, considering he got 2 INTs and a fumble recovery).

Let's keep in mind the guy he got beaten by was Steve Smith, who when healthy is still an elite WR. It's not like he got beaten by just an average or above average WR. When Cam Newton wasn't accurate, Woodson exploited it. Smith may finish this year as a top 3 fantasy WR.

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Clay Matthews seemed to be constantly around the ball but was usually unable to make the big play. It looked like a frustrating game for him, but he kept battling and eventually picked up a cheap sack (chasing Newton out of bounds at the line of scrimmage), followed by the fourth down tackle on Newton near the end.

This game showed how important Tramon Williams is to the Packers. His absence created a domino effect, with Woodson having to play the edge and Bush having to play the slot, where Woodson usually is.

I was surprised to see Brad Jones on the field so often. I think he made a special teams tackle, but once again he didn't do anything at OLB. I saw him get sucked inside on a play where Newton scrambled around his end for a big gain. I didn't like seeing Jones in there. I had assumed that Walden would grab that starting role and make it his own, at least until Zombo returns.

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Sometimes Clay doesn't seem like himself and I start to wonder how much that quad injury plays into it.

Tramon is going to be a big help coming back this week and I am happy that it was just a severe shoulder bruise. If he were out this week, with Collins now going to IR...it wouldn't be a pretty sight for Packers fans. However, Earl Bennett is out for this game and Roy Williams may be as well.

Brad Jones is terrible. There were so many times where the Packers may as well played with 10 guys on the field than have Brad Jones lining up. I am guessing he was in to give Walden a breather.

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I just don't know with Woodson. I think as a pure corner, he's definitely lost a step. He plays too aggressively without the recovery speed to make up for it. He either gets too aggressive with the jam at the line, or gets caught peeking in the backfield at the time of a break. He's still one of the better defensive backs in the league, but it goes to show how much we miss our premier cover corner. We need someone that lock up a top receiver and allow us to go with more man-to-man coverages.



I agree with with just about all of this. The bigger domino effect I saw, though, was that it forced us to retreat into more zone defense. That's where we really miss Tramon. This D needs to be man-based.

I loved Brad Jones his rookie year, but he certainly isn't capable of playing ROLB. He may be unable to play any LB effectively at this level.

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We're simply going to have to get more of a pass rush then. Let's not forget the '07 Giants beat the best passing team ever in the SB simply by putting the QB on his *** before he could complete a pass longer than 5 yards.

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I assumed Brad Jones was playing more because of how badly Walden was struggling early in the game. Walden got completely shoved around on the line and was getting smoked in pass D.

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I didn't notice Walden struggling, but I often don't notice things like that, and it's certainly not hard to believe. Walden is streaky. That's why I like Zombo better. He seems more solid. I think he will get the bulk of the playing time again when he fully recovers from his injury.

My theory on Brad Jones is that he made a big splash as a rookie because he had played 3-4 OLB in college, which not many guys do. He was ready for it, and of course he benefited from Clay Matthews being on the other side. His four sacks mostly looked like clean-up sacks to me. I still give him credit for playing well as a rookie, but apparently he had already reached his ceiling. When opponents figured out his weaknesses, he had no counterpunch for them.

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What is considered a .5 completion?