Packers Report - Week 3

A win is a win is a win. As far as I'm concerned, the Packers did what they were supposed to do.

After a disappointing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at home last week (the Bengals did just beat the Steelers Sunday, so we shouldn't feel to bad, i guess they are kinda good), the Packers needed to rebound in St. Louis Sunday.

They did just that.

At first glance, a final score of 36-17 looks damn good. But for those of us who watched, this was game was far from a blowout. For most of the afternoon, Green Bay was fighting tooth and nail to maintain a 6 to 9 point lead. St. Louis got a breath of fresh air in their offense from Kyle Boller, the former Ravens QB) who replaced the injured Marc Bulger in the second quarter. It seemed as though every time the Pack got in the end zone, the Rams responded. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that they were finally able to seal the deal.

Let's take a look at the grades for week 3:

QB: A- - Once again Aaron Rodgers played a solid game. With two passing TD's and a rushing
TD, Rodgers had the Rams defense outplayed for most of the game. We also saw Rodgers open up the passing game a bit, throwing some deep balls to both Driver and Jennings. He finished the game with 269 yards and no interceptions for the third straight week.

RB: B- - It is hard to move the ball with no running lanes. Ryan Grant finished up with 99 yards on 26 carries for a 3.8 average. as they game progressed the lanes began to open up a bit. Grant was all in all solid considering the circumstances. We will need more out of him in the weeks ahead. Also fullback John Kuhn had two TD's.

WR: B - Jennings only had two catches, but made them count for 103 yards. Driver was the star this week, with 4 for 95 yards and a TD. Driver also caught a 40 a yard bomb from Rodgers with one arm while being held. The tight ends were sub-par and will need to step it up. Also the Pack only had 1 dropped pass this week which is an encouraging sign.

OL: C - The line showed some improvement, only giving up two sacks. They were pushed around quite a bit though, and showed little run blocking till the fourth quarter (thanks to McCarthy committing to the run once the Pack had a bigger lead). They will have their hands full with the Vikings Monday night.

DEF: C+ - Although limiting the fairly anemic Rams offense to 17 points, the defense was anything but stellar. even while putting a linebacker at strong safety and loading 8 in the box, they could not stop Steven Jackson for most of the game. He totalled over 100 yards. The D-line was beat for most the game as well. Woodson once again shined with another INT. And finally we saw a bit of Desmond Bishop, whose impact was immediate.

FINAL GRADE: B-

Notable Stats: Mason Crosby hit 3 field goals for the Pack, including a 48 yarder. Green Bay did muster 3 turnovers, two in the red zone. However the offense could not turn them into touchdowns.

Next Week: Green Bay sits at 2-1 for the season. With the showdown against Favre and the Vikings in a week, we can only hope that the Packers can clean up some of these errors. They are going to have to play out of their minds to beat Peterson and Favre. The talent is there, but we NEED the lines on both sides to step it up.

It all starts with the line.

the line.

line.