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| Other Week 3 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at NE | CAR at DAL | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | DEN at OAK | GB at STL | IND at ARI | JAX at HOU |
| KC at PHI | MIA at SD | NO at BUF | NYG at TB | PIT at CIN | SF at MIN | TEN at NYJ | WAS at DET |
Week 3 Game Recap: Green Bay Packers 36, St. Louis Rams 17
Green Bay Packers
| QB Aaron Rodgers, Pass: 13 - 23 - 269 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 8 - 38 - 1 |
After a slow start - in which the Packers offense twice started with the ball inside the Rams 20-yard-line only to settle for field goals each time -- Rodgers showed why the Packers passing attack is feared. He found Donald Driver all over the field, connected with uncanny accuracy on his deep throws, and spread the ball around well enough that a third WR on this team has fantasy potential. Rodgers was often under pressure and forced to scramble but often made things happen, including a 5 yard touchdown run through the middle of the Rams defense. His play-action fakes sometimes had the entire defense fooled. His line easily could have been 4 passing TD's if his receivers had been able to come up with a couple of perfectly thrown passes.
| RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 26 - 99 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Grant had a pedestrian first half, and fared a little better in the second, but not by much. He showed a good initial burst, but ultimately wasn't able to find the hole or shed the first tackler. A good chunk of his yardage came late in the game when the Packers were running down the clock. Grant had a couple of red zone carries, including one that went to the one yard line, which fullback John Kuhn then took in for a score on the next play. He was targeted as a receiver only once.
| RB John Kuhn, Rush: 1 - 1 - 1, Rec: 1 - 10 - 1 (1 targets) |
Ryan Grant is clearly the main goal line option for the Packers, but Kuhn vultured a one yard TD on his only carry of the game, and scored on his only reception of the game as well, from ten yards out.
| WR Donald Driver, Rush: 1 - 13 - 0, Rec: 4 - 95 - 1 (7 targets) |
Driver looked like he was out to prove that he hasn't lost a step. And he did a pretty convincing job of it. He was clearly the go-to guy on a team with a few worthy options. Driver made a couple of highlight catches: He found a way to get open in the end zone while his QB was scrambling, resulting in a TD, and pulled in a stunning one armed grab for a 46 yard gain. This made up for the one he shoulda caught early in the game, a nicely thrown fade in the end zone that bounced off his fingertips).
| WR Jordy Nelson, Rec: 3 - 46 - 0 (5 targets) |
Nelson looked to be the de facto number three receiver, getting one red zone look and equalling Donald Driver's number of targets at eight. He was used mainly as an intermediate threat, and looked brilliant when he beat the Rams safeties on a deep pattern, only to come up short on a pass that really should have caught for an easy touchdown.
| WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 2 - 103 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jennings was invisible for much of the game, but made an impact when called upon. He was the main deep option for the Packers, and he showed why, beating the secondary twice for 50+ yard gains.
| WR James Jones (2 targets) |
James Jones was nowhere to be seen in the first half, and received only two looks in the second before leaving with a minor injury. Jordy Nelson appeared to be the third wideout of choice for the Packers, relegating Jones to very few snaps.
| TE Donald Lee, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lee provided a nice short target and red zone option for the Packers. He was targeted twice on the red zone, and also showed soft hands with a very nice fingertips catch early on.
St. Louis Rams
| QB Kyle Boller, Pass: 16 - 31 - 164 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 31 - 0 |
Boller took over at QB and promptly displayed all the qualities that Bulger was lacking: He was calm under pressure -- which was often -- he challenged the Packers secondary with deeper throws that Bulger seemed willing to attempt, and showed good scrambling ability. On his first series he even did some blocking on a Steven Jackson rush. Boller probably didn't endear himself to his coaches for his fearless play, but it seemed to energize an offense that had scored only a single touchdown on the season. He was confident with his throws, and found TE Daniel Fells in man coverage twice for touchdowns. It's worth noting that Boller had a little more trouble moving the chains after WR Laurent Robinson left the game due to injury. His interception was the result of a gutsy throw, not a bad one. With his team playing from behind, he was taking chances rather than playing it safe.
| QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 3 - 4 - 23 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Marc Bulger didn't stick around long enough to warrant any really bad criticism. But despite his 3-for-4 line, he looked pretty lost out there for the short time that he played. And he did manage to fumble the ball on the play in which he was injured.
| RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 27 - 117 - 0, Rec: 5 - 46 - 0 (8 targets) |
The Rams offense begins and ends with Steven Jackson. He was a workhorse with 27 carries, and was also the most targeted receiver on his team. Jackson showed great ability to gain yards after first contact, which resulted in several first downs, though his longest rush of the day was only twenty yards. He had another twenty yard play called back on a penalty.
| RB Ken Darby, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Darby filled in at tailback on the rare occasion that Steven Jackson was rested.
| WR Donnie Avery, Rec: 3 - 12 - 0 (7 targets) |
Donnie Avery was not even targeted in the first quarter. After Laurent Robinson left the game, Avery was thrown to more often but had nothing to show for it, save for his three catches of 3, 4, and 5 yards each. He was rarely open and did not appear to be used on the deep routes that made his rookie campaign successful. He also left late in the game, with an apparent rib injury.
| WR Keenan Burton, Rec: 3 - 37 - 0 (5 targets) |
Burton was a reliable target for Kyle Boller, and could see an uptick in targets with Robinson likely gone for the year.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
Robinson was the favourite target of both Boller and Bulger, but went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter. He did not return and was on crutches after the game - early reports are that Robinson will out be out for the remainder of the season.
| TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (3 targets) |
Randy McMichael was supposed to be the receiving TE for the Rams, but on this day was upstaged by the "other guy", Daniel Fells. He made an important catch later in the game, for twenty yards, so he hasn't been totally forgotten.
| TE Daniel Fells, Rec: 2 - 35 - 2 (5 targets) |
Fells came out of nowhere to post a two-catches-for-two-touchdowns line. He twice beat his man 1-on-1 for scores of 16 and 19 yards. Boller had no trouble getting the ball to him in stride each time as he reached the end zone untouched. If Boller takes over at QB, Fells could have some serious upside going forward.