Green Bay Packers Report Card: Final Marks for the Packers Week 1 Performance

The Green Bay Packers narrowly escaped the New Orleans Saints by a score of 42-34 in Week 1 of the regular season. Their performance wasn't awe-inspiring, but they played well enough earn some nice final marks on their first-game report card.

After a long weekend to think over Green Bay's play on Thursday Night, here are the final marks for the Packers Week 1 performance.

Offense

For the majority of the night, the Green Bay Packers' offense looked spectacular. They jumped out to a huge lead behind the exceptional play of Aaron Rodgers and continued to play at a high level the entire game.

The biggest question mark coming into this game was how the offensive line would hold up. It wasn't an extremely dominant performance by the group, but they played very well and gave Rodgers plenty of time. They also did a good job opening up running lanes for Ryan Grant and James Starks.

If you were expecting some rust from Green Bay's offense, you were certainly proved wrong as they looked as good as ever.

Final Grade: A+

Defense

For the majority of the game, Drew Brees made the Green Bay Packers' defense look like a pee-wee team. Brees finished the game with 419 yards and three touchdowns.

It was an unimpressive performance by the entire unit. However, the biggest concern has to be how easily the secondary was abused by the New Orleans Saints. This group that includes Nick Collins, Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Sam Shields was supposed to be one of the best in the NFL, but they were brutally abused all game long by Brees.

Another area of concern was the constant double-teams that Clay Matthews saw. If the Packers can't figure out another viable pass rusher, teams will continue to hone in on Matthews, which will lessen Green Bay's ability to get pressure on the quarterback.

While we shouldn't be overly concerned since it was only the first game of the season, the entire defensive unit has some work that needs to be done.

Final Grade: D+

Special Teams

On one hand, the Green Bay Packers special teams unit played very well. Randall Cobb had a monstrous game, returning one kickoff for an incredible touchdown.

On the other hand, their coverage team was consistently getting beat and allowed Darren Sproles to return a punt for a touchdown.

Right now I'm giving the nod to Cobb over our coverage team because of how dynamic he will be all year long. Plus, he did tie the record for longest kick return in NFL history.

Final Grade: B

Coaching

To be honest, I was a little frustrated by Mike McCarthy during the game.

After the Green Bay Packers jumped out to a big lead, he played very conservatively and allowed the New Orleans Saints to get back into the game. Instead of keeping the pressure on and letting Aaron Rodgers have his way, he played it safe and relied way too heavily on the run game.

This ultimately led to the Saints sticking around all game long and having an opportunity to tie the game on the last play from scrimmage. If the Packers want to win a very strong division, McCarthy is going to need to let his team absolutely crush teams instead of playing it safe.

Final Grade: C-

Mental Toughness

This grade was basically decided on the final play of the game. With the game on the line, the defensive unit stepped up huge and secured the victory.

Final Grade: A

Final Grade

You certainly can't complain with a victory over a quality team with an elite quarterback.

Sure, we would have liked to see a lot more on defense, but they came up huge when they had to. People all week long were talking about a Super Bowl hangover, but the Green Bay Packers came out to play and had a fantastic game.

They will certainly continue to improve as the season goes on.

Final Overall Grade: B+