Gotta say, we are completely indifferent toward preseason football this year.
Here’s why.
The Green Bay Packers are a veteran team. There are very few starting spots being contested. In fact, there are probably legitimately two starting spots up for grabs — left guard and running back. The latter will most likely take a committee approach though, so it doesn’t really matter who starts.
Appropriately, the Packers offensive starters played only two series in the team’s 27-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns last night. The No. 1 defense, while it was on the field, ran a vanilla scheme and didn’t bother to blitz. The result
Why should they? The game didn’t count.
In one of his two series, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a touchdown — a 21-yard pass to Greg Jennings.
If you’re looking for someone who stood out, rookie Randall Cobb comes to mind. Cobb led the Packers with three catches for 60 yards and averaged 29 yards per kickoff return.
James Starks averaged seven yards per carry, but had only two carries.
Backup quarterback Matt Flynn was solid, going 11-of-18 for 126 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions.
Of course, there were also some players who looked like they didn’t know what the hell was going on.
Offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse comes to mind. Newhouse got turned inside out on more than one occasion while he was playing tackle.
Cornerback Pat Lee, who the Packers have been waiting on for some time, didn’t do much to solidify his roster spot. Lee essentially did his best Jarrett Bush impersonation. And we’re not talking about the new-and-improved Jarret Bush. We’re talking about the old burnt toast version.
Among the players who didn’t suit up for the game were Charles Woodson, Sam Shields and Jermichael Finley.