Packers-Broncos: Aaron Rodgers Impresses, Green Bay Does Not

Derek Lofland from Fantasy Football Maniaxs

Aaron Rodgers played very well in Denver. He went 18-for-22 for 193 yards with one touchdown and no picks. He was only sacked once. He led the Packers on scoring drives in four of his five possessions.

Despite that, the Packers trailed 17-13 at the half and only won 27-24.

The reason for that was a terrible defensive effort. Ryan punted a ball that was downed inside the one-yard line. The Broncos took that ball 99 yards down the field and scored a touchdown on the Packers.

Then the Packers tried to cover Brandon Marshall with a backup corner—Tramon Williams—in one-on-one coverage. The result was a touchdown drive that took 16 seconds.

I have not been very impressed with the Packers’ defense in preseason. The Bengals scored 20 of their 30 preseason points in the opener against the Packers.

San Francisco put 34 points on the board. The Broncos put 24 points on the board.

Granted, some of that was against backups. Still, what are the Packers going to do in the secondary if Woodson or Harris gets hurt? What are they going to do in nickel and dime sets?

The Packers will not be as good on offense in 2008 as they were in 2007. That is a given now that Brett Favre is not there. In order for the Packers to succeed, they will have to run the ball better and play better defense.

Ryan Grant hasn’t carried the ball yet, and the defense played much better in the preseason last year. That is not a good sign for Packer fans.