With eleven games down, and only five more to go, the Green Bay Packers are a serious threat to become the third regular season team in the NFL history modern era to finish undefeated. After a slow start against the Lions on Turkey Day, the Packers offense came alive in the 4th quarter and proved that Detroit was still not ready to take the next step forward into the NFL elite. Here are my postgame grades from the victory over Detroit.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers started slow missing on a few third down conversions in the first half. However, he again proved why he was the best in the business at the back shoulder throw, completing big plays to James Jones and JerMichael Finley. Rodgers will tell you it wasn't his best game of the season, but with another quarterback rating over 120, Rodgers continues to show why just an average day for him is a great day for any other quarterback in the NFL. Grade: A-
Running Back James Starks had a couple nice draw plays before leaving the game early when his injury flared up. The Packers really never showed a true commitment to the running game, but that was expected against a superb Detoit defensive line. Brandon Saine had a few nice 3 and 4 yard carries and also showed great burst on a dump off pass and getting to the outside before taking a big hit. Ryan Grant missed a few cutbacks, and is showing why he may 3rd in line at this point in the Green Bay backfield. Grade: C+
Wide Receivers Again, a few selected receivers were a big part of the offense this week, while others were not as involved. On Thursday, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Randall Cobb took the majority of the reps, while Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver were not as involved in the offense. Jones showed his undeceptive speed on his long touchdown reception that pretty much sealed the game. The receivers had a few drops in the first half, but fixed that problem as the offense got into gear in the second half. Grade: B+
Tight End JerMichael Finley had a couple drops, but still had a big 3rd down conversion on the opening drive in the second half that eventually led to a score and ejection of Ndamukong Suh. Tom Crabtree and Andrew Quarless were not involved in the passing game, but helped in pass protection especially once Josh Sitton went down with a knee injury. Grade: B-
Offensive Line Big props to this unit here. Besides for one drive where Kyle Vanden Bosch got to Rodgers a couple of times, the unit did a good job of shutting down Suh on the inside and Cliff Avril (who has had past success against Green Bay) on the outside. Evan Deitrich-Smith stepped in for the injured Josh Sitton and played very well, frustrating Suh. Deitrich-Smith did a great job of keeping his cool when Suh stomped on him, which eventually led to his ejection. After this unit was dominated by the Detroit defensive line in that game at Ford Field last year, they really responded well this time around. Grade: A
Defensive Line BJ Raji played his best game of the season, while Ryan Pickett made an athletic play to tip a Stafford pass and lead to an interception. The defensive line still failed to generate consistent pressure, but did a fairly good job stopping the run. Grade: B-
Linebackers With both starting inside linebackers going down with injuries, DJ Smith and Robert Francios stepped in admirably. Smith had great pursuit and a made a couple of great open field tackles, while Francois made a great leap and catch for his first interception of the year. Erik Walden had his best game of the season, with 8 tackles, while Clay Matthews picked up his first interception of the season. The only downside was being suspect in coverage and allowing the running backs and tight ends to pick up some yardage after the catch underneath. Grade: B
Defensive Backs Tramon Williams and Morgan Burnett shaded Calvin Johnson all day and kept him in check besides a garbage time touchdown at the end. Williams dropped two interceptions, including one that would have been an easy pick-6. Charles Woodson made a great play, leaping over Brandon Pettigrew and taking it away in mid-air. Grade: A-
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers started slow missing on a few third down conversions in the first half. However, he again proved why he was the best in the business at the back shoulder throw, completing big plays to James Jones and JerMichael Finley. Rodgers will tell you it wasn't his best game of the season, but with another quarterback rating over 120, Rodgers continues to show why just an average day for him is a great day for any other quarterback in the NFL. Grade: A-
Running Back James Starks had a couple nice draw plays before leaving the game early when his injury flared up. The Packers really never showed a true commitment to the running game, but that was expected against a superb Detoit defensive line. Brandon Saine had a few nice 3 and 4 yard carries and also showed great burst on a dump off pass and getting to the outside before taking a big hit. Ryan Grant missed a few cutbacks, and is showing why he may 3rd in line at this point in the Green Bay backfield. Grade: C+
Wide Receivers Again, a few selected receivers were a big part of the offense this week, while others were not as involved. On Thursday, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Randall Cobb took the majority of the reps, while Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver were not as involved in the offense. Jones showed his undeceptive speed on his long touchdown reception that pretty much sealed the game. The receivers had a few drops in the first half, but fixed that problem as the offense got into gear in the second half. Grade: B+
Tight End JerMichael Finley had a couple drops, but still had a big 3rd down conversion on the opening drive in the second half that eventually led to a score and ejection of Ndamukong Suh. Tom Crabtree and Andrew Quarless were not involved in the passing game, but helped in pass protection especially once Josh Sitton went down with a knee injury. Grade: B-
Offensive Line Big props to this unit here. Besides for one drive where Kyle Vanden Bosch got to Rodgers a couple of times, the unit did a good job of shutting down Suh on the inside and Cliff Avril (who has had past success against Green Bay) on the outside. Evan Deitrich-Smith stepped in for the injured Josh Sitton and played very well, frustrating Suh. Deitrich-Smith did a great job of keeping his cool when Suh stomped on him, which eventually led to his ejection. After this unit was dominated by the Detroit defensive line in that game at Ford Field last year, they really responded well this time around. Grade: A
Defensive Line BJ Raji played his best game of the season, while Ryan Pickett made an athletic play to tip a Stafford pass and lead to an interception. The defensive line still failed to generate consistent pressure, but did a fairly good job stopping the run. Grade: B-
Linebackers With both starting inside linebackers going down with injuries, DJ Smith and Robert Francios stepped in admirably. Smith had great pursuit and a made a couple of great open field tackles, while Francois made a great leap and catch for his first interception of the year. Erik Walden had his best game of the season, with 8 tackles, while Clay Matthews picked up his first interception of the season. The only downside was being suspect in coverage and allowing the running backs and tight ends to pick up some yardage after the catch underneath. Grade: B
Defensive Backs Tramon Williams and Morgan Burnett shaded Calvin Johnson all day and kept him in check besides a garbage time touchdown at the end. Williams dropped two interceptions, including one that would have been an easy pick-6. Charles Woodson made a great play, leaping over Brandon Pettigrew and taking it away in mid-air. Grade: A-
Overall: In my opinion, it was porbably the second best performance of the season for the Pack after the Monday night game against the Vikings. With only five games remaining, the Pack have a very serious chance of going undefeated.
