10 Quick Things: GB vs. SF

After rewatching Friday night’s 28-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, here are 10 things worth knowing:

5 QUICK THINGS

1) How low has the bar been set for Jordan Love? Matt LaFleur praised his first half of work against the 49ers, as did most of the sycophantic local media. In reality, it was yet another underwhelming performance by the former No. 1 pick. While Love did make a handful of very impressive throws and showed more poise in the pocket than a year ago, he also threw a bad interception, was inaccurate on four short tosses to open receivers, and missed Romeo Doubs on what should’ve been a 41-yard touchdown. The glass-half-full crowd will remind you that Aaron Rodgers didn’t exactly look like a future Hall of Famer in his second preseason, and they’d be right. Other the other hand, was it really too much to expect Love to be the most impressive backup signal-caller on the field at Levi’s Stadium? Because last night that was journeyman Nate Sudfeld, who’s been with three teams since 2017.




2) While LaFleur was disingenuous with his praise of Love, his happiness with the offensive line was legitimate. The much-maligned group looked better in last night’s game than at any time during practice. It’s amazing what replacing Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Kenny Clark, and Jarran Reed with Jordan Willis, Robert Nkemdiche, Kevin Givens, and Javon Kinlaw can do for a unit’s effectiveness. Snarkiness aside, there were some reasons for optimism (Josh Myers, Zach Tom, and Royce Newman). And perhaps the biggest reason of all were the two penalties called on Jake Hanson. Maybe those miscues, along with being responsible for a few ineffective runs, will finally convince the coaches to stop toying with the idea of actually starting the undersized former sixth-round pick from Oregon. That’s something an O-line could only get away with if the right guard were sandwiched between Pro Bowl-caliber players at center and right tackle.

3) Less than three weeks into his first NFL training camp, one thing is already crystal clear about rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs – he’s going to be better than almost every reserve cornerback he faces; that’s been evident in practice, and it was just as evident on Friday night. Whether the former Nevada star can get open as effortlessly against starting corners won’t be known for at least another month. The fourth-round pick easily beat speedy Tarvarius Moore for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter and would’ve had an even longer score a few plays earlier had Love thrown a better ball. On the negative side, Doubs dropped one pass and bobbled another that wound up being intercepted by Samuel Womack. That’s mildly concerning since his hands were a problem at times in college. After watching three practices and last night’s game, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s the real deal. I’m just not sure exactly what that means, at least not yet.

4) It was only a bit surprising to see Isaiah McDuffie start ahead of Krys Barnes at the inside linebacker spot next to rookie Quay Walker (All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell had the night off). That’s because, unlike the past two Green Bay defensive coordinators, Joe Barry places a premium on speed when it comes to this position. And McDuffie runs like the wind. The former sixth-round pick from Buffalo ran 4.58 before the 2021 draft (Barnes was timed at 4.79 a year earlier). McDuffie put that speed to good use several times on Friday night as he was able to chase down backs who attempted to bounce plays outside. And while he did allow himself to get caught up in the wash a few times, to be fair, he faced a lot of traffic working behind the second-string D-line. As for Walker, the team’s top pick had an efficient debut. He made the plays he was supposed to make in the run game and looked comfortable in coverage. Of course, that’s a lot easier when the receivers coming at you are Ross Dwelley and Malik Turner, not George Kittle and Deebo Samuel.

5) While T.J. Slaton is definitely improved from a year ago, the young nose tackle still plays too tall. That’s why he looked like a future Pro Bowler one play and a future USFLer the next. The former fifth-round pick from Florida caused havoc as a pass rusher against the 49ers’ backup offensive linemen, but he struggled in the run game. The 6-foot-5 Slaton had an especially difficult time with 6-foot guard Jason Poe, who used leverage to gain an advantage despite giving away 40 pounds. The best of Green Bay’s backup D-linemen last night was second-year pro Jack Heflin, who isn’t as talented as Slaton but plays much harder and with better technique. The former undrafted free agent from Iowa made five tackles and created decent pressure in 37 productive snaps. He could persuade GM Brian Gutekunst to keep six players at this position.




5 QUICKER THINGS

1) We all found out last night why the coaches preferred Danny Etling over fan favorite Kurt Benkert. Neither No. 3 quarterback has the arm talent to be a good QB at this level, but Etling is a much better athlete. In an emergency, his legs would at least give the offense a fighting chance to move the chains and score some points in a regular season game.

2) Rookie Tyler Goodson wasn’t drafted for several reasons – the most popular being his inability to break tackles in college. The former Iowa star did nothing to disprove that criticism against San Francisco. While he showed quick feet and a nice burst on a number of successful carries, he too often ran directly into defenders and got stopped dead in his tracks.

3) Amari Rodgers enjoyed his best game as a Packer. The former Clemson star caught a touchdown and returned a kick 51 yards. He does look faster after losing some weight in the offseason, and perhaps that will persuade LaFleur to use more motion on offense this season. What Rodgers couldn’t do on Friday night was create much separation from the slot.

4) Kobe Jones hasn’t received much attention this summer, but the first-year outside linebacker has quietly held his own with the other young outside linebackers on the roster. That continued to be the case last night. The former Mississippi State star did a pretty good job setting the edge versus the run and added four tackles and a sack in 36 snaps.

5) Free safety Dallin Leavitt lived up to his scouting report before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. The former Raider, who was signed last month mainly to play on special teams,  looked like he was running in quicksand as Danny Gray blew by him for a 76-yard TD. A short time later, he leveled Ray-Ray McCloud, causing a fumble that the Packers recovered.

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