The Green Bay Packers had a rough couple of days in Denver and are returning home after a humbling preseason defeat on Sunday at EmPower Field at Mile High.
The final score: Broncos 27, Packers 2. The only points for Matt LaFleur’s team came via a safety in the second half.
Still, the process is more important than the result during the preseason, so an evaluation of the individual performances is worth the time.
Here are some of my notes from the re-watch:
— Maybe a different narrative today if Sean Clifford and Malik Heath had connected on third down on the first series. Ball was thrown just a little too far and Heath couldn’t track it down. The Packers would have had 1st-and-goal inside the 5.
— Royce Newman (third down) and Jacob Monk (fourth down) both allowed pressures on the first series.
— The 11-yard screen pass to Emanuel Wilson on 3rd-and-17 was actually set up nicely, with Newman and Sean Rhyan out in front of Wilson, who made a nice one-handed catch. But Newman got blown up by a linebacker, and Rhyan was late finding a defender to block. What could have been a big gain settled for 11 yards and a punt.
— The Packers had a very difficult time blocking No. 99, Zach Allen. He abused the second-team offensive line.
— On the Broncos’ touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, rookie cornerback Kalen King got caught up in the mass bodies as he attempted to follow Patrick across the formation. Tough assignment. King didn’t have the speed to recover, and it was an easy touchdown.
— Tight end Tyler Davis got dinged for a holding penalty, and he missed five — yes, five — run blocks on the first three series. He really struggled maintaining blocks as an in-line blocker.
— On Allen’s third-down sack of Clifford, Newman’s missed block created the pressure and forced Clifford to scramble outside the pocket.
— Emanuel Wilson had a couple of nice pass pro reps. On multiple plays, he found the blitzer and got him blocked.
— On a snap in the second quarter, Kristian Welch leveled a tight end and dumped Samaje Perine for a short gain. Unlike most of the visitors on Sunday night, he played with his hair on fire.
— King’s missed tackle on 3rd-and-17 was a big-time negative play. Greg Dulcich gained over 10 yards after the catch and picked up the first down.
— The Packers list Jonathan Ford at 338 pounds. On several snaps, he was the first defensive lineman off the ball. He looked explosive.
— Offensive tackles Kadeem Telfort and Travis Glover had miserable nights. They are massive, but neither looks quick enough to handle NFL caliber speed on the edge. Telfort allowed the pressure on Clifford’s interception.
— Terrific hand fighting by Brenton Cox Jr. on his sack. Knocked the hands down, then won with quickness around the corner.
— King got beat clean on a dig route from the slot on third down. The Packers blitzed linebackers, so there was no middle-of-the-field help.
— Arron Mosby drew a penalty, and then had the quick pressure — off an inside move — that helped create the interception to open the second half.
— Michael Pratt had Grant DuBose wide open on 4th-and-1 but threw a fastball behind him.
— A nice spin move against a double team from Cox Jr. produced a pressure and an incomplete pass.
— Glover got beat badly at right tackle on Pratt’s sack-fumble. Ball probably needs to be out, or at least protected, but the pass pro rep wasn’t good enough.
— Pratt’s deep ball to Heath in the third quarter wasn’t close. Good read, but the throw left a lot to be desired.
— DuBose dropped a pass, but he also had a nice block on Wilson’s 15-yard run and an impressive open field tackle covering a punt.
— The snap on Greg Joseph’s field goal attempt was a good one. Joseph’s kick sailed wide right.
— Credit to Glover for following the play and being in position to recover Nate McCrary’s fumble.
— Newman, who was still in the game in the fourth quarter, got no push on McCrary’s fourth down run. Not surprisingly, Newman’s defender helped stuff the run short of the sticks.
— Rookie Kitan Oladapo had a couple of nice tackles, including a run stop and a sure tackle in the open field.