5 Quick Things: GB vs. PHI

After re-watching Sunday night’s game against the Eagles, here are five eight things worth knowing:

1) Jordan Love made an impressive cameo in the second half, but let’s not get carried away. He was completing passes against a defense playing soft while protecting a two-score lead. Still, it was encouraging to see the young signal caller firing the ball with confidence and pretty good accuracy. Ironically, his best throw of the night might’ve been one of the three balls that weren’t completed. Running back Aaron Jones dropped a laser along the sideline. While we still don’t know whether Love can actually win games in the National Football League, we definitely saw enough last night to want to see more.




2) On a field filled with fast players, Christian Watson’s speed really stood out on his 63-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Defensive backs Marcus Epps and Reed Blankenship had the angle on the former North Dakota State star, but neither had the wheels to track him down. Watson is still very raw as a route runner, but the biggest thing he needs to improve upon is getting down before being whacked. Because he’s so tall, it takes him a long time to get to the ground, leaving him vulnerable to big hits. He took another one from C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Sunday night; fortunately, he was OK.

3) Yosh Nijman has struggled in pass protection the past couple of weeks. It seemed as if the Eagles’ defensive linemen followed the blueprint established by the Titans 10 days earlier. Veterans Brandon Graham and Ndamukong Suh were able to get under Nijman’s pads and use leverage to bull rush him into the backfield several times. On a more positive note, the former Virginia Tech star did some very good work opening holes for Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. His strength and athleticism were major reasons why they averaged a healthy 6.1 yards per attempt when running to his side of the field.

4) Quay Walker goes sideline to sideline as well as any Packers inside linebacker in the past two decades, and he never stops hustling, but he has to do a much better job of getting off blocks and making tackles. The No. 1 pick from Georgia whiffed more on Sunday night than Giancarlo Stanton. Used as a spy on Jalen Hurts on the very first series of the game, Walker twice failed to lay a hand on the elusive quarterback, who scrambled for gains of 24 and 27 yards. It was a sign of things to come. To be fair, Walker didn’t get much help from a veteran defensive line that was totally dominated for 60 minutes.

5) It was appropriate Sunday night’s game was in Philadelphia because Rasul Douglas played the way he did for three seasons with the Eagles. While the veteran cornerback did some positive things, he’s just not athletic enough to stay with really fast and/or quick wide receivers. Pro Bowler A.J. Brown beat him at the goal line at the end of the second quarter, and it wasn’t the least bit competitive. Douglas, who signed a $20 million extension last March, should be switched to free safety in 2023. Perhaps he could have a Micah Hyde-type second half of the career revival at that position.




6) Justin Hollins showed why I’ve been so high on him for the past couple of years. Despite not signing with Green Bay until Wednesday, the former Ram had a sack and two tackles for loss against the Eagles. He also stayed disciplined and set a consistent edge, something very few of his teammates did on Sunday night. Hollins might not be a future starter, but he’s a very good No. 3 outside linebacker. Had $13 million per year teammate Preston Smith played nearly as well, Philly’s talented offense might not have resembled Alabama steamrolling some poor Division II defense on a Saturday afternoon.

7) The only defensive player who held his own against the Eagles’ dominant offensive line was backup nose tackle T.J. Slaton. The former fifth-round pick from Florida had three solo tackles, including one for loss. He needs to play more than 30 percent of the snaps, especially in games where Dean Lowry is getting tossed around like a joint at a fraternity house (which, to be honest, is most games). The 340-pound Slaton is already better than he was in college. If he keeps improving, he has a chance to be a significant part of what promises to be a very different-looking defensive unit in 2023.

8) It’s good that the coverage teams are much improved under Rich Bisaccia because they are getting a real workout this season. Through 12 games, a whopping three-quarters of Mason Crosby’s kickoffs have been returned. And since the weather started getting cooler in Week 7, that number has increased to 82 percent. In comparison, only 15 percent of Brett Maher’s kickoffs have been returned. At 38 years of age, Crosby no longer has the leg strength to drive the ball through the cold air and/or wind. He’s had a long and successful career with the Packers, but it’s clearly time to move on.




OVERALL: The end result was another loss, but at least the Packers were entertaining in defeat. That has rarely been the case the past couple of months. The offensive line is finally somewhat stabilized and playing better, and Watson has added a dose of much-needed talent and speed to the offense. It’s something to build on, and if – a very big if – LaFleur hires the right defensive coordinator in January, this awful season might be more of an anomaly than the beginning of a trend.


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