Packers: Positives, negatives from Week 2 tie vs. Vikings

Positives, negatives for the Green Bay Packers in Week 2.

If it were not for an extremely controversial call towards the end of the Green Bay Packers‘ showdown with the Vikings, they would be 2-0.

Here are some positives and negatives from the tie:

Positive: Jamaal Williams

Jamaal Williams doesn’t look like he will ever be one of the league’s premier running backs, but he has very quickly cemented himself as a reliable, serviceable back who quietly gives the Green Bay offense plenty to work with.

Williams, in barely over one season, has become one of the league’s best pass-protecting running backs. On an injured leg, the Packers needed as much extra protection for Aaron Rodgers from Williams as they could possibly get.

Against a dominant front seven, Williams was withstanding blitzing linebackers throughout the game. With Aaron Jones set to return in Week 3, the Packers might have themselves something interesting brewing at running back.

Negative: Veteran cornerbacks

Drafting Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson was clearly an effort by the Packers to find their secondary for the future. New general manager Brian Gutekunst brought Tramon Williams into the picture and re-signed Davon House to provide both depth and experience to an otherwise awful secondary.

Williams was decent in Week 1, but it is worth wondering how much he has left. The Packers were smart to bring him in in a supplementary role, but he simply is not in a position to continue playing at the level he once thrived at.

House, despite one record-setting year in Jacksonville, is just not talented enough to play the position as much as the Packers have been giving him the opportunity to. Green Bay passed on several more expensive options in free agency at the position, mainly Trumaine Johnson, Richard Sherman, and Bashaud Breeland.

Williams and House have to perform better while Alexander and Jackson go through their growing pains.

Positive: Special teams

While Mason Crosby missed a game-winner at the end of regulation, he’s human. Crosby drilled five field goals earlier in the day and finally pulled one from a considerable distance under immense pressure. Rookies JK Scott and Hunter Bradley have been picture perfect so far.

The Packers have had a long list of punters in recent memory. Ted Thompson went along with Tim Masthay for six seasons before moving on to Jacob Schum and later Justin Vogel. Vogel had a good season in Green Bay after going undrafted out of Miami, but the Packers drafted Scott out of Alabama in the fifth round to supplant him.

So far, Scott has been fantastic. He pinned the explosive Vikings offense deep in their own territory several times and got the Packers out of some precarious positions on the field. Rookie long snapper Bradley has been as good as the Packers could have hoped for so far through two games.

Negative: Rookie wide receivers

The Packers made a significant investment in the receiver position in the draft, which took them out of consideration for any of the available free agent wide receivers such as Dez Bryant or Kendall Wright. The team made a strong push for Allen Robinson when free agency opened, though the rival Bears outbid them in that race.

So far, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been the only one of the three drafted receivers to see the field. J’Mon Moore, the highest draft pick in the fourth round, had a miserable preseason.

Equanimeous St. Brown has yet to get onto the field yet and even though Geronimo Allison has stepped up as the third receiver, having just three capable receivers is unsustainable.

Positive: Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham was un-guardable against the Vikings on Sunday. It has been far too long since the Packers had a tight end who could be as lethal to opposing defenses as Graham. After six catches for 95 yards, Graham had the best day of any Packer tight end in years. Of course, that number would’ve been much higher if his third quarter touchdown pass wasn’t called back due to holding.

With Aaron Rodgers delivering the football, the Packers should be able to get Graham the ball in the red zone frequently. Defenses are too used to being able to ignore Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, and others, but no longer.

Negative: Coaching

Mike McCarthy was all over the place on Sunday. After calling two pass plays towards the end of the game instead of exhausting Minnesota’s timeouts, and burning all three of his own over the course of the second half, McCarthy still messed up as the Vikings were making their game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.

Due to burning those timeouts, the pass rushers were gassed, forcing Kyler Fackrell onto the field.

Fackrell seems like a nice guy. He has a nice smile, beautifully groomed facial hair, and cool shoes. However, Fackrell can’t rush the passer any better than a snail could chase down a cheetah. It is embarrassing that the Packers spent a third-round pick on Fackrell only to follow that up the following year with the selection of Vince Biegel in the fourth round.

McCarthy and the rest of the staff have got to be sharper the rest of the way if they want to have a better chance of unseating the Vikings in their own division.