The Green Bay Packers looked more like a football team last night in St. Louis, nearly getting a shutout of their own after losing 17-0 last week. Aaron Rodgers looks to be in midseason form but could definitely use Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, who are out with injuries. The Packers moved the ball at will under Rodgers but had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.
It took B.J. Coleman to finally find the endzone with a fourth quarter touchdown pass. I thought Coleman looked really good following Graham Harrell and Vince Young. He had the best night of the three quarterbacks battling to back up Rodgers.
The backup quarterback battle now takes a week off as the starters are expected to play a majority of the game next week against Seattle in Lambeau. The final preseason game in Kansas City will probably settle the matter.
The Packers’ defense lead by Johnny Jolly’s interception and tipped pass for interception looked much improved. For most of the game the Rams were unable to move the ball with any consistency. They did hit a couple of big plays but didn’t score until the game’s final minutes. Jolly just has a knack for knowing where the football is, he would have been great cornerback if was 200 pounds lighter.
Speaking of cornerback, it appears Micah Hyde has played himself into a role in the defense somewhere. With Tramon Williams and Casey Hayward expected back at some point, where that is is yet to be determined. I’m sure Dom Capers will come up with something to get him involved. Hayward better get back soon or he may be the one out of a job even after his big rookie year.
I shouldn’t even talk about Eddie Lacy so as not to jinx him. I think it is clearly evident the Packers finally have a running back that provide the missing link to their offense, which could make Rodgers even better, if that’s possible. Lacy was a beast and if he plays 16 games this year the Packers’ offense will be extremely hard to stop.
The Packers return to Lambeau for a rematch of the debacle in Seattle last year. At least that is how it will be played up in the media, but it is still just a preseason game. The starters on both sides will probably play longer but from a coaching standpoint it will still be pretty vanilla compared to a regular season game. It is the last chance for the starters to play together so it would be nice to see continued improvement.
I certainly feel better about the way the Packers played in game two. Maybe now that they are basically in a “in-season” schedule they will be more refreshed on game day going forward. It looked like it Saturday.