Jordan Love and Danny Etling
The Packers vs 49ers game started off with a great touchdown from Jordan Love to Romeo Dobbs, and it looked like we would see some of the flashes that Jordan Love has shown in training camp. But after that touchdown pass, Jordan Love and the offense would really regress with him at quarterback, with Jordan Love throwing three picks to one interception. All credit to Jordan Love however, because 2 of his interceptions were drops. After Jordan Love had an underwhelming first half, Danny Etling, the third string QB out of LSU got a chance to show what he had, and he showed quite a bit. His stats for the second half were 6/8 completed passes for 123 yards and 1 touchdown. He overall has a better game then Jordan Love, being careful with the ball and showing a lot of mobility. Now I know what Packers fans are thinking about Jordan Love after this game, and all I have to say is, give him time. Jordan Love wasn’t playing his best, but remember, this guy has only played a handful of games in his NFL career, and the games he did play in, he was only in for about two quarters, splitting reps with the other quarterbacks. All I can say to Packers fans is to RELAX, give him a little more time to develop.
The Wide Receiver Room
As for the wide receivers, we didn’t really see a lot from most of them besides the fact that Romeo Dobbs is living up to his hype. He had a good game including a td where he just beat the corner right off the line. Danny Davis also had a great catch after the run, and is a guy that I have as a dark horse roster lock. But other than that, we didn’t really see a whole lot. Us Packers fans are hoping to see someone else step up and be more prominent in the preseason, such as Amari Rodgers, who really didn’t show a whole lot in this game besides 1 catch for a touchdown.
Running Backs, and who will take over if Kylin Hill is out
Despite the offensive woes, the running backs did not disappoint. Tyler Goodson had a great 1st half including a 30 yard run after catch. He also had some good runs in the 1st half, showing off his speed and elusiveness. This guy is very elusive and is a great pass catcher and reminds me a lot of Aaron Jones. BJ Baylor also had a nice catch and run for about 60 yards, beating his man and making a couple nice moves to break out. Dexter Williams made his return in fashion as well, having some nice runs in the last drive the Packers had. There’s a lot of room for competition in this running back room, especially with Kylin Hill being on the PUP list. Expect to see a lot more from Tyler Goodson in the next few weeks while he’s pushing for a roster spot.
The Defensive side of the ball was rough, and there really wasn’t a whole lot to see. The Packers are going to have to wait a few more games to make a decision on who the backup safety will be, because the safeties were giving up a lot of big plays. Dallin Leavitt gave up an easy TD over the top, he didn’t seem to notice what was going on until after the ball was thrown over his head. There was also a lot of penalties on the defensive side of the ball, including holds, pass interference, and illegal contact to name a few. A few standout guys that I saw would be Kabian Ento, who I see being a lock at special teams and a backup DB. He made a couple great plays on the balls that were thrown his way, and was also making some tackles. Kingsley Enagbare was also another standout guy on the defense today. This guy was a presence on the line, pressuring the qb a lot, and even got a sack later in the game. I see him as a lock for the 3rd string edge rusher, behind Preston Smith, and Rashan Gary. Jonothan Ford, the 7th round pick from Miami, also had a decent game. He didn’t have a lot of plays , but from what I saw, he was a force on the Dline.This guy is huge, plays big, knocking back the 49ers guards on almost every run play. I also expect this guy to make the 53 man roster.
The game overall wasn’t pretty, and there’s a lot of questions regarding who would make the team, but it’s preseason so what do you expect? I look forward to the joint practices with the Saints on Wednesday and Thursday to see more of Jordan Love and the wide receivers work.