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Name: BigE
Email: BigE@idatasports.com
Date: Thu Aug 29 0:11:08 2002

Headline: Packers Far From Impressive Against Browns

The Green Bay Packers looked very unimpressive in their 27-20 win over the Cleveland Browns Monday night. It's hard to determine which team will show up in the regular season, the team that ripped apart the Cardinals, or the team that struggled against an up an coming Browns team. The pre-season means so little, yet the coaching staff must be concerned the way the first team offense looked like a deer in the headlights. I don't care who was playing wide receiver, when Brett Favre and Ahman Green are on the field, you would expect the offense to move the ball.

That's what made this pre-season "Classic" so hard to stomach. Ahman Green looks like he's going to have a big year, and he ran with his usual punishing style on Monday night. But the Browns showed the Packers what they will face come the regular season, a steady diet of seven man fronts and two deep zones. And the Packers first team offense looked off balance all night.

Facing a seven-man front, the receiver's will have to step up in a big way. With Terry Glenn nicked up, this is a time for Favre to get in rhythm with his other receivers. This just hasn't happened yet. But Robert Ferguson has stepped up his play of late, and in limited action Monday he produced 3 catches for 23 yards.

The other receivers, including TE Bubba Franks, made some nice catches. But ultimately the Packers couldn't convert on third down. Rookie Javon Walker is being forced fed, literally, but Favre overthrew him a few times in the first half. It seemed as if Walker wasn't getting the separation you would expect from a guy with 4.3 speed. The bright spot of the night for Walker came on an 8-yard catch, with a defender mugging him. The Rook showed nice hands on that play.

You have to wonder how Donald Driver gets shut out in this game? Driver is small, but play's at a blazing pace. He's a serious talent, but the Packer coaches want to see that talent in the regular season on a consistent basis. Will Driver be shut out playing full, or most of a regular season game? That question will soon be answered.

This all leads us to a bigger question; will Terry Glenn play a full season without injury? It's hard to imagine that Glenn will stay healthy for any extended period of time, let alone a full season. Brett Favre has got to get in sync with his other receivers. Then, any time the Packers get Glenn on the field, they will have a home run threat to go with a stable of good complementary receivers.

The Packer defense was without several starters, so it's hard to gauge how they've progressed as a unit. This unit, with all its starters healthy, looks like they're going to be dangerous. But that certainly wasn't evident on Monday night. With two back-up corners and Antuan Edward's back from injury, the Packers secondary played too soft. The corners didn't come up and make any tackles on the Browns screen plays. Of course having Mike McKenzie and Tyrone Williams on the field will help the Packers in that situation. McKenzie always comes up with some serious lumber, and Williams is not scared to mix it up. So again, it's hard to gauge the defensive performance on Monday night.

One thing is for certain; Darren Sharper is already headed to the pro-bowl!! Sharper took over the game all by himself in the second quarter. First, Sharper made a couple vicious hits, then scooped up a blocked punt and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Sharper is on top of his game, and the rest of the NFL better watch out.

Pastor Bob once told me, "you're never as good or never as bad as you think when you break training camp." And the game against the Browns did nothing to dispel Pastor Bob's notion. If the receivers step up their play, there's no reason to think that the Packers will continue to struggle offensively. Better yet, let's get Terry Glenn on the field!!!

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