Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
STUDS AND DUDS
Rodgers was the star of the show for the Packers
The Green Bay Packers scored six touchdowns and prevented the Oakland Raiders from scoring inside the red zone three times during Sunday’s 42-24 win at Lambeau Field. The victory improved Matt LaFleur’s team to 6-1 after seven games.
Here are the studs and duds from the Packers’ win in Week 7:
STUDS
QB Aaron Rodgers: For much of the last month, Rodgers has been playing excellent football. On Sunday, the quality of the performance was accurately reflected by the statistics. He completed over 80 percent of his passes, averaged 9.1 yards per attempt, produced six total touchdowns and hit six different receivers for gains of 20 or more yards. It’d be unfair to say Matt LaFleur has “reprogrammed” Rodgers, but the veteran quarterback’s confidence in the scheme is clear and growing week-by-week. He’s playing like a veteran point guard, with a willingness to simply distribute the football to others that often lacked in recent years. His accuracy was elite. Of his six incompletions, three were probably catchable balls. After the game, Jon Gruden lauded Rodgers’ toughness, and for good reason: He got rocked a few times but it didn’t affect him. On one third down in the first half, Rodgers stood tall in the pocket and delivered an accurate ball to Geronimo Allison knowing full well he was about to get smacked. First down. When the Raiders went Cover-2, Rodgers fired into the soft spots for big plays.
TE Jimmy Graham: Graham has played 23 games for the Packers, and there’s a good argument that Sunday was his best. He caught all four of his targets for 65 yards and a touchdown, providing a sampling of plays that once made him one of the game’s great tight ends. On 3rd-and-6 on the opening drive, Graham stayed alive in the route and made a 29yard catch downfield after Rodgers bought time. Later in the first half, he drew a pass interference penalty inside the 5-yard line, setting up a touchdown.
His best plays came in the second half. On one catch, he hauled in a pass in the flat, lowered his shoulder and barrelled over Karl Joseph for another first down. Later, he made another short catch, forced two tacklers to miss in the open field with lateral moves and picked up 25. It was as athletic a play as Graham has made all season. He capped his day by sprinting free across the formation and making a tough sliding catch away from his body for a 3-yard touchdown in the red zone. For one day, Graham looked every bit the part of a $30 million tight end.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: Huge credit is due for playing through ankle and knee injuries suffered six days earlier. Even more credit is due for playing hurt and still creating two gamechanging plays. Valdes-Scantling did his best Jordy Nelson impression on a postcorner-post route to start the second half. He was double-covered but it didn’t matter. He was too fast and too patient within the route. A better throw from Rodgers would have produced a 78-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he was on the same page as Rodgers on a quick throw against the blitz. He secured the catch, made a man miss while turning upfield and went 74 yards untouched down the sideline. Two catches, 133 yards, one TD. Not bad for only 20 snaps.
RB Aaron Jones: He turned his 16 touches into 83 total yards. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but Sunday was a complete performance from Jones. Go back and watch his 15-yard run early. He used a rare combination of vision and lateral agility / explosiveness to get free to the outside and make a big play. Additionally, his confidence as a receiver and pass protector is growing. He made a spinning catch of a well-placed ball from Rodgers to create the Packers’ first touchdown. At least twice, he found the blitzer and made the block. An explosive play off a well-designed screen was wiped out by a questionable penalty. His smart block downfield helped spring Valdes-Scantling’s 74-yard touchdown.
OLB Za’Darius Smith: Run defense on the edges wasn’t an issue. Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary all held a strong edge. Eventually, the Raiders just gave up attempting to get outside on the ground. Twice, Za’Darius got off blocks and made stops within a yard of the line of scrimmage. He didn’t have a sack, but he affected the passer several times.
DUDS
LB Blake Martinez: His 16 tackles look great in the box score, but it was mostly empty production. Of his 10 tackles, 10 were four or more yards down the field. He missed at least three tackle attempts. He was the first to miss on Josh Jacob’s big run to open the game. He dove with an arm tackle and came up empty, turning a 2-yard gain into 42. A holding penalty negated a big play in the passing game created when he bought the fake off play-action and was out of position. The Raiders exploited his zone coverage for much of the afternoon. In the second half, Martinez blew a perfect run blitz when Jacobs juked him in the hole. His hustle on Derek Carr’s scramble near the end zone in the second quarter did help create a game-changing turnover.
KR Darrius Shepherd: The rookie didn’t have an error, which is progress, but special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga probably needs to make a switch at kick returner. Shepherd doesn’t have the straight-line speed or short-area quickness to handle the role at this level.
S Will Redmond: Teams have found ways to exploit the Packers not having Darnell Savage at safety. The primary target has been Redmond, who is too easily moved by the quarterback’s eyes and beatable in man coverage. The Packers got ripped to shreds in the middle of the field because Redmond and the inside linebackers weren’t good enough in space. Like Martinez, Redmond struggled but also created a huge play – his shoestring tackle of Darren Waller in the second quarter prevented a touchdown and eventually saved seven points.