Review & Grades: Packers Beat Browns
By jclombardi
Summary: QB Rodgers threw 3 touchdowns and RB Grant rushed for 148 yards and 1 touchdown to crush the Browns 31-3. The revamped 3-4 defense caused 2 key turnovers to shutdown the inept Browns. The Packers look forward to a NFC showdown in the Favre-A-Palooza 2 Vikings game.
Highlights—Video & Game: NFL. ESPN. FOX. Packersnews
Game Ball: 1. CB Woodson 2. QB Rodgers 3. RB Grant 4. TE Havner 5. LB Hawk.
Injury Report: 1. TE Finley (mild sprain) 2. WR Swain (out for season).
Quotes:
3. QB Rodgers [after getting his helmet ripped off]: “The linemen said, ‘We’ve got your back.’ That means a lot to our team. We’re a tight knit group. I felt like we kind of played with excitement and joy and got back to playing our brand of football this week.”
Report Card Grades–Good, Bad, & Ugly: LA. SE.
Pass Offense—A. A. Seeing soft coverage, QB Rodgers took advantage throwing short and intermediate passes to rip apart the Browns. He completed 15 for 20 passes for 246 yards, 3 touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks, and a 155.4 passer rating. He rushed 4 times for 23 yards. WR Driver had 2 receptions for 84 and 1 touchdown. WR Jones had a key catch for 5 yards and 1 touchdown. Backup TE Havner had a great day with 2 receptions for 59 yards and 1 touchdown. The offensive line dominated the game allowing no sacks.
Rush Offense—A. B+. The Packers rushed 41 times for 202 yards averaging 4.9 yards. RB Grant had 27 carries for 148 yards averaging 5.5 yards. He regained his 2007 former self breaking tackles and getting good yardage with 6 runs of 8 yards or more. Rookie LT Lang had an outstanding performance in his first starting role. RT Barbre had another good performance. RG Sitton continued his consistent solid performance. LG Colledge did okay. In relief, C Wells has done a solid job. The rebuilt line is coming along. LT Clifton is progressing toward returning. T Tauscher has been cleared for full participation in practice this coming week.
Pass Defense—A. A-. The defense had a strong performance. The Packers held the Browns to 81 yards passing. They made big plays including 2 sacks and one fumble. CB Woodson had one interception and forced a fumble. They held the Browns to 2-12 in third downs efficiency.
Rush defense—A. A. The Packers did a solid job holding the Browns to 58 yards rushing. Capers extensively employed his base and “Big Okie” defenses against Cleveland’s base personnel. The front seven had a solid game with the linebackers having an outstanding games. They dominated the line and plugged the gaps especially LBs Hawk.
Special teams—B. B-. The kickoff coverage had issues. The Packers tried to keep the ball away from KR Cribbs costing them field position. K Crosby kicked the ball out-of-bounds twice giving the ball to the Browns at the 40. The Browns started their other drives at their 43 and 45 and the Packers 45. The kick and punt returns were just average. K Crosby hit one of two field goals. P Kapinos had 2 punts averaging a solid 43.5 yards.
Coaching—B+. A-. After a slow start, the Packers built a strong half-time 21-3 lead. The 55 yard field goal try was a questionable strategy call. They had 8 stupid penalties for 70 yards with 4 calls giving first downs to the Browns. In the red zone, they were only 2 for 3. In 3rd down efficiency, they were 6 for 11. In 4th down efficiency, they were 0 for 1.
Overall Game—A-. The game was a confidence booster. On offense, the Packers had 460 total yards. On defense, the 3-4 defense had a second command performance with two solid goal-line stands in the red zone.
CBS Sports Overall Game–A. Who doesn’t get credit? They did what they wanted. Aaron Rodgers had a big day, Ryan Grant ran it well and the defense shut down the Browns all day long, including twice inside the 5. It was almost too easy.
CTV Good, Bad & Ugly: Good–Rodgers, Havner, & Woodson; Bad–Browns; Ugly–Mangini.
Rodgers vs Favre series: week 7. “Silver Fox” Vikings 6-1. Packers 4-2.
Commentary: Perspective, fans. Remember, these last two wins were against NFL bottom feeders.
Preview: OMG! It’s Favreageddon 2 showdown against Favre and Vikings!