The Green Bay Packers preseason loss to the Denver Broncos won’t matter much once the regular season starts. The team rested nearly all of their starters and many key backups as well. However, the game and training camp thus far have revealed some issues the team needs to resolve before the games start to count. Here are three issues facing the Packers with one preseason game remaining.
Issues Facing the Packers with One Preseason Game Remaining, Number Three: Offensive Line Depth
The Packers coaching staff rested their five first-string linemen to give the depth players a chance to show what they could do. Unfortunately, the results were far from promising.
Nobody has claimed the swing tackle spot yet. Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort started at left and right tackle respectively. Dillard looked better at left tackle than he did at right, but he was average at best. Telfort struggled as did Luke Tenuta and Caleb Jones in his limited action.
Inside, Royce Newman also struggled while playing every offensive snap. His roster spot may not be secure. Sean Rhyan was also inconsistent while rookies Jacob Monk and Travis Glover showed they still had a lot to learn.
The run blocking was lacking as the line failed to open up holes for the running backs. While the offensive line allowed only two sacks in the game, both quarterbacks were under constant pressure.
The Packers have one more preseason game to figure out who their best backup linemen are.
Number Two: Backup Quarterback
Sean Clifford played the first half (except for the final 30 seconds) while Michael Pratt played the rest of the game. Neither looked ready to take over and neither led the team on a scoring drive. The longest pass completed all game was 11 yards.
Clifford finished the game 6-of-10 for 43 yards and one interception. His quarterback rating was 30.4. Pratt was 10-of-16 for 52 yards and a quarterback rating of 67.7. Clifford faced the Broncos first string offense for most of the first quarter while Pratt was playing against backups throughout his time on the field.
Clifford has struggled through training camp and the preseason. He does not seem to have taken a second-year jump after impressing in the preseason last year.
A year ago, Matt LaFleur was fine with having Clifford as his backup quarterback. Of course, a year ago, the expectations for the Packers as a team were much lower. Last year, the Packers weren’t sure what they had in Jordan Love. Love finished strong and the team surprised everybody by making the playoffs.
This year, the Packers expect to be contenders so having a backup quarterback who can fill in for a few games if something happens to Love is essential. It’s unclear if either Clifford or Pratt are able to fill that role right now.
Issues Facing the Packers with One Preseason Game Remaining, Number One: Kicker
The kickers were not very active in this game. The Packers only kicked off all game since they never scored on offense. The team attempted just one field goal; a 47-yard try by veteran Greg Joseph which was nowhere near the uprights. Anders Carlson did not get to try a field goal or an extra point.
Joseph got off to a stronger start in training camp but has since fallen off. His 47-yard miss, for example, is worse than it sounds because the altitude in Denver allows kicker to make longer field goals.
Carlson also had a period in camp where he seemed to be kicking better but has since fallen off and has been inconsistent.
GM Brian Gutekunst has brought in three other kickers besides Joseph and Carlson and may yet bring in another before the season starts. But none of these candidates have played consistently enough to claim the job.
The Packers invested a draft pick in Carlson and would obviously prefer for him to step up and win the job. But again, if the Pack will be a contending team, they cannot afford to have shaky kicking which could easily cost them several games over the course of the season.
The kicking competition remains wide open with one preseason game remaining.
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