Green Bay Packers: Young Players Continue to Bring in More Talent

Last season, the Green Bay Packers saw Sam Shields, James Starks, Bryan Bulaga, Tim Masthay, Frank Zombo, Erik Walden, Morgan Burnett and Mike Neal (for the time they played) develop quickly and witnessed how they were able to use their talents to support the team.

Not two preseason games in yet, and it already looks like this year will be no different.

The run game

James Starks didn't play much, but he outperformed Ryan Grant with two carries for 14 yards, compared to Grant's three carries for 13 yards. Again, that's not much, but it speaks some volumes to me.

There should be no doubt these two will make an excellent duo this season. Partnering with Alex Green will also make this one of the more complete running games in the NFC.

Tim Masthay

It's clear that Masthay has come a long way since midseason of last year when the Packers were about to cut him. Though he had two "average" punts, he also had a handful of 60-yard punts that shows he's starting right where he left off last season.

Am I the only one who can't wait to see how he takes on Devin Hester again? I can't believe I can say I'm confident we found a guy who can shut out one of the most feared returners in NFL history.

The quarterbacks

Matt Flynn and Graham Harrell clearly have a lot more growing pains to go through, as both were clearly affected by pressure. Neither can really stand up to the plate quite yet, but it's not like anyone's forgotten Flynn's performance against New England last season.

Our backup situation at quarterback should be fine.

Who is this Randall Cobb?

The Packers made a mistake keeping Mason Crosby in my opinion, but at least he's a solid kicker. The least the Packers could have done is bring in another kicker to motivate Crosby to fight for his job. But it is what it is.

With Tim Masthay now becoming Green Bay's new kicker and Randall Cobb being the favorite to be the new man to return punts, it's clear that Green Bay's special teams, while still a work in progress, is improving.

But that's a different story. The real story is how Cobb performed in the passing game, having three receptions for a total of 60 yards, which led all receivers in the game.

A strong debut for Cobb, no doubt. This guy was the reason I felt the Packers could have let James Jones walk.

The new guys

We already covered Randall Cobb, but there are some faces that had a solid performance against Cleveland.

Who is this Brandon Saine? I'm not sure anyone really knows who he is, but there's a possibility of there being a wild card here. Saine caught three passes for 19 yards and ran the ball 10 times for 35 yards. Not saying we should get too excited, but he's a nobody that had an unexpected "solid" performance.

Derek Sherrod and T.J. Lang were playing a game of hop and hop through the game, and that's not a good sign. Someone has to work out before the season starts. After what happened in 2009, I'm just not going to get my hopes up.

All the while Marshall Newhouse struggled at right tackle. For his sake, I hope he makes some improvements before the season starts.

Conclusion

It's only preseason; nobody needs to get upset that the Packers lost. The Packers lost to the Browns last season in the preseason opener as well. I don't have to remind everyone what happens later.

We should take a moment to realize that we going to see some more young players come in and display their talents, just like last season. And the Packers are one of the best—if not the best—organizations in the league at finding young "scrap" that can immediately fit into their scheme.

Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff are taking an approach to their injured players the smart way, by sitting them out. Charles Woodson and Jermichael Finely stayed out of the game, and they'll need to sit out as long as possible to keep the team from repeating a similar situation that they faced last season.

And most of all, be happy that there is actually going to be a preseason.  Football is officially back.