Packers Pre-Season Review

We lost and that sucks and it looked like, perhaps we were going to come back and assert ourselves, but we didn't. I'm gonna say that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

It's the pre-season. Leave us not forget that. And leave us not forget that, as opposed to last year, we're actually trying to win these games. Giving your best and falling short won't cut it when the games start to count, but it's worth something now.

So... what did we learn?

Most Importantly:

1. We learned that Dan Kreider is the runt of the litter. Do you know how to spot the runt? They're the ones that are left out when there aren't enough teets to suckle on. As a result, they don't get nourished and they're smaller. Kreider was listed in the official starting line-up, but didn't play a snap. The Steelers played mostly three wide receivers and probably only 15 or so snaps with a fullback - Kreider's back-up. The Rooneys are out of teets to suckle and Kreider will shrink into the background. They'll probably keep him around long enough that he can't catch on with anyone else in the division, maybe even through this season, but he's not part of the new regime's plans. And that pisses me off. Because I love Dan Kreider. I almost bought a Kreider jersey on Saturday night. I couldn't find one, which was probably a sign. I also nearly pulled the trigger on a Santonio Holmes jersey.
2. And that's my next jersey. This kid is a bad ass. I'm going to buy the jersey, keep the sales receipt, and show it to everyone in December. When he's tearing up the league to the tune of 75/1,100/10, I'll show everyone the receipt and say, "I knew he was going to be awesome in August." In the second quarter, he got behind three Packers. When I first saw the 50 yard completion that Batch threw to him, I thought Batch was gambling by throwing into triple coverage. I didn't realize until I saw the replay that Holmes got behind three guys to catch a pass that would've been a touchdown if Batch had taken just a little bit off of it. Draft him in all fantasy formats in the 8th round. I'm telling you. He might even be there in the 10th.
3. The defense was fired up. They've got quite a streak going these past two games against the other team's first string. If they can keep up this intensity (which, admittedly, Tomlin seems to foster), they're not going to be as worthless as I thought. Maybe. I still need to see them keep it up for more than a half.
4. I was listening to the radio and someone mentioned that the big thing everyone on the team was worried about was the poor play on special teams, especially the blocked extra point. I gotta say that they shouldn't give two shits about the blocking on extra points if they're going to make the Packers look like the '85 Bears out there. Steeler quarterbacks were sacked five times by the friggin' Packers. Imagine what'll happen if we have to line up against the hated Ravens or the Patriots this season. Oh, that's right. We do. Granted, two of those sacks were the fault of Max Starks, who looked completely lost at left tackle, but Marvell Smith got humiliated as well. If they're looking for something to fix, something to practice, they should start with trying to keep the quarterback upright.

Less Important, But Still Pretty Important:

1. Watching this game made me realize how much we miss Willie Parker. Remember when Najeh Davenport made that old-fashioned Steelers move, going inside-out, breaking off left tackle, and stiff-arming the balls off that poor, helpless Packer cornerback? I was fired up when I saw that play until I watched it again and realized that Parker would've blown right by that poor, helpless cornerback and scored a 55 yard touchdown. I hate to say that it looks as though spreading things out, going to three wide receivers, and letting Willie go inside-out by design instead of by chance might be a good idea. And that means no Dan Kreider. I'm going to move on.
2. Either the Packers completely changed their defensive philosophy - playing exclusively Cover 2 and putting as many guys as possible deep when Ben was in and switching to man-to-man and stacking the line of scrimmage for Batch - or Arians didn't open things up when Ben was in the game, instead waiting to see what Batch could do. Those are the two options. For the sake of my sanity, I'm going with Arians calling things conservative while Ben was in the game.
3. Brandon Jackson is winning the starting tailback job in Green Bay. Write it down. He started the game, was in there against the first team and he finished the game, because they wanted to see what he could do against his peers and what he could do against scrubs. He passed both tests.
4. Chris Hoke is more important to the team than I thought. When he got hurt, I was happy to have easy access to liquor. When I found out it was just a hyper extension and not a ligament tear, I was happy to have easy access to liquor. Maybe I'm just more of an alcoholic than I thought.
5. Sean Mahan and Marvin Phillip are going to be the two centers on the roster when we cut down to 53. Chukki Okobi was noticeably absent on Saturday and he'll be noticeably absent from the roster when the season starts. Who gets groomed for a starting position for six years? I just keep thinking that, even under Cowher and his favoritism of veterans, Okobi could've won that job over Hartings (especially with the huge cap number that Hartings had every year) if he was any good. He's weak, he doesn't have the feet to play center for this team, and he wasn't hungry enough to either beat out an old man with no knees, or demand that he be traded somewhere else. Now, he's an unemployable 28 year-old that's on the wrong side of a regime. Welcome to the NFL, rook.