Just like that, the preseason is almost over.
The Green Bay Packers treated Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, a 23-19, come-from-behind victory, like a true exhibition. After the starters made a cameo last week, coach Matt LaFleur used Thursday’s joint practice session as his way of getting his team ready for the regular season.
Malik Willis started at quarterback and led the offense into field-goal range on his first series. The defense held the Colts to three points in the first quarter. Ultimately, the team had a much better showing after last week’s 30-10 loss to the Jets.
Here is our weekly stock report, which is much more positive as a result.
With Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom part of a long inactives list, Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton started at left tackle and right tackle, respectively.
Morgan, who has drawn rave reviews throughout training camp, is competing with Walker to be the starting left tackle. With Walker dealing with a groin injury, the door is open for Morgan to win the job. As was the case against the Jets, Morgan delivered a strong performance.
The Packers have two playable options at left tackle. That’s a luxury most teams do not have. If nothing else, Morgan has moved past his injury-riddled rookie season and has shown he has starting potential.
Marshawn Lloyd has been one of the players everyone has been begging to see in action. Lloyd has plenty of juice; he’s just been sidelined too often during his brief NFL career.
Lloyd started against the Colts, and while he carried six times for only 15 yards, one play in the second quarter showed a glimpse into what he can provide to Green Bay’s offense.
Lloyd lined up in the backfield and took off on a wheel route. He blew by the linebacker who was in coverage and Malik Willis led him up the sideline. The result was a 33-yard reception and a first down. Lloyd’s ability to deliver explosive gains in the passing game is something that was missing from Green Bay’s offense a season ago.
The downside, of course, is that Lloyd appeared to be dinged again after the reception, adding to the laundry list of issues he’s had since entering the league. Coach Matt LaFleur said only, “We’ll see,” when asked about Lloyd after the game. If he’s healthy, Lloyd can be the home-run hitter out of the backfield to complement Josh Jacobs’ punishing style.
Warren Brinson has not received as much fanfare as his former Georgia teammate, Nazir Stackhouse, during training camp, but he has been quietly coming on over the last 10 days. As a late-round draft pick, there is not a lot of wiggle room to take plays off, and maximum effort is needed at all times.
Brinson showed that off during the second quarter.
With Anthony Richardson back to pass, Brinson took aim at getting to the quarterback. He forgot something in the process.
His helmet.
Brinson was not going to allow something as simple as a helmet prevent him from making a play. After it was knocked off by a Colts lineman, Brinson continued to rush up the field, beating his man to get a hit on Richardson. Amazingly, an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty was not called, but it was the type of effort that was sorely missing from the team as a whole last week.
Brinson is going to be relied on at some point during the season to make plays for this defensive line. Plays like that give a glimpse into what type of player he could be as the season goes on and he gains seasoning.
Former Canadian football star Taylor Elgersma got his first taste of extended action as the first quarterback off the bench. Elgersma led the team in passing, going 7-of-11 for 109 yards. Moreover, he led the team to 16 of its 23 points.
Elgersma is unlikely to make the final roster behind Jordan Love and Malik Willis but is making a run at a spot on the practice squad.
There are times you can tell his internal clock needs some refinement and the game is moving too fast for him. That is understandable given the leap in competition from Canadian college football to the National Football League. His arm, however, is that of an NFL player, making him an intriguing option as a developmental quarterback.
This is Sean Clifford’s third training camp. The team knows what it has in him. The question general manager Brian Gutekunst will have to answer is whether he wants to roll the dice on the upside of Elgersma or the known commodity that is Clifford.
Isaiah Simmons was one of the more intriguing players the team could have added after the draft. The Cardinals gave up on the former top-10 pick, and he didn’t get much of a chance the last two years with the Giants. The Packers represented an opportunity to hone in one position and restart his promising career.
If preseason games are any indication, Simmons has a long way to go at that position.
In the first quarter alone, Simmons was beaten twice in coverage, missed a tackle on a run play and another on punt coverage. For all the athletic gifts Simmons possesses and the potential he’s shown on the practice field, he’s struggled in the preseason games. If the Packers had to play a regular-season game tomorrow, there’s a good chance they would play Ty’Ron Hopper rather than Simmons.
Simmons’ path to the roster remains on special teams, where if he continues to struggle at linebacker, could be his only path to getting on the field.
Last week, it was Jacob Monk. This week, it was Donovan Jennings.
Monk struggled mightily against the Jets, being flagged three times for holding and giving up a sack last week. On Saturday, Jennings started at left guard with Aaron Banks on the sideline.
Jennings’ assignment? DeForest Buckner.
Good luck, kid.
Jennings was predictably beaten in obvious passing situations. He was flagged once for holding, which wiped out an explosive catch by Julian Hicks that would have converted a third down.
Jennings, a college left tackle who moved to guard last season and has been getting snaps at center, entered the day in the mix to be the team’s ninth offensive lineman behind their top seven and Monk. After Saturday, Jennings might have fallen back to the pack, opening the door for someone like Kadeem Telfort, though he was penalized twice.
If there is a scary spot on Green Bay’s defense, it’s the back of the cornerback depth chart.
Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon represent the team’s first three at corner. Safety Javon Bullard has played enough in the slot to essentially include him in that group.
As far as true cornerbacks go, however, the fourth-best player based on merit might be a former receiver. Bo Melton has flashed enough potential that he probably has solidified his spot on the 53-man roster.
The race for the fifth spot includes Kamal Hadden, a sixth-round pick by the Chiefs last year who had an impressive offseason but missed a big chunk of training camp this year with a hip injury. He returned to practice this week with the No. 2s and started against the Colts. His name was called a lot but not always for a good reason.
Hadden was beaten repeatedly in coverage, as if the quarterback was trying to find him before the play started. He tied for second on the team with seven tackles. Hadden will have to rebound quickly, with only one more week of training camp before the preseason finale against the Seahawks.
Last week was a good week for Anthony Belton at right tackle. He had some learning moments but, overall, it was a good experience in his first game in the NFL.
It was a different story on Saturday, when he was penalized five times in the first half alone. All of the mistakes were of the mental variety. A false start is an easy mistake to correct. He also was flagged for a facemask and personal foul.
The personal foul would be forgivable on its own. In general, aggression is something that an offensive line coach would rather coach out of a player rather than talk into. Instead, Belton committed a facemask on the next series.
Belton has some potential, and the nastiness he displayed in college is evident.
As Denzel Washington’s character Herman Boone said in Remember the Titans, football is about harnessing that aggression to achieve perfection. It looks like Belton has some work to do in harnessing his aggression.
More mental mistakes would follow later. Belton was flagged for illegal formation twice during the team’s 2-minute offense, the first of which wiped out a touchdown pass from Taylor Elgersma to Ben Sims.
Belton has plenty to work on after this week’s performance.
Two years ago, Wilson won a spot on Green Bay’s roster after leading the NFL in preseason rushing. He was the team’s primary backup last season after AJ Dillon was lost for the season with a neck injury and finished with more than 500 rushing yards.
This year is not off to a good start. He missed time with a knee injury after landing awkwardly while trying to catch a pass at practice. Perhaps as a result, he appears to have fallen behind Chris Brooks in the face to be the No. 3 back.
The Packers obviously are keeping Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd, which could mean Brooks and Wilson could be battling for one spot. Even with an explosive catch, Wilson did not help his case. On the same play that Anthony Belton was flagged for a facemask, Wilson fumbled, giving the Colts the ball in prime scoring position.
Wilson will have a chance to bounce back next week, and he may need to in order to save his spot in Green Bay.
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