Empty the notebook for the game Packers vs. Broncos

With the third (and final) preseason game of 2024 approaching, I’d like to wrap up the Green Bay Packers’ second preseason game of the summer.

I tend to watch a lot of film after a game, even an ugly preseason game. There is always something to learn, even from an ugly game. In a preseason game like this, I spend most of my time watching certain players just to see what they looked like. Since I don’t have the time to write a detailed report on each of these players, I decided to just post the notes I took while watching, along with a few clips in between.

So here we go. In this Packers game against the Broncos, I watched every snap of 11 players: 5 on offense, 6 on defense. Let’s start with the offense. (All snap counts by position are from PFF.)

attack

Jacob Monk (#62)

• 42 snapshots (13 Center, 18 LG, 11 RG)
• Seems to be floating a bit. Has trouble shaking himself off and working to the next level, both in terms of timing and targeting. Led to some pretty poor plays in the run game.
• He did better as a center than as a guard, but in significantly fewer snaps
• I saw him perform a stunt flawlessly and it was a lot of fun.
• Showed more skill in pass defense than as a run blocker, but struggled there as well.
• He has talent, but obviously needs some work before he’s ready.
• If he has to step in as center, it’s not the end of the world, but I certainly wouldn’t feel good about seeing him as a guard right now.

Kadeem Telfort (#76)

• 39 snaps (28 left tackle, 11 right tackle)
• Looks taller than everyone else. Extremely tall man.
• Much better at passing than running. Not a great mover in space, but good first push off the line and a good combination of size and footwork
• If he manages to land a man, it’s a lot of fun.

• Has some issues with inside movement, but has a fast enough recovery speed to not ruin the game.
• Has great difficulty re-anchoring himself against pure power moves.
• If he has to move to the RT position, I think the passing game could be okay, but the running game would suffer.
• Lots of potential, but he’s not there yet.

Caleb Jones (72)

• 17 snaps (all at right tackle)
• Comes off a little too easily. Get your hooks in and go, man.
• Not a great mover, but seems a little smoother than last year. Still not great in space, but good at flushing guys down the line.
• Showed some nice things in the passing game. Nothing outstanding, but he looked solid, which I couldn’t say was the case last season.
• While I would love to see a 6’1″, 360lb guy puller in the running game, I just don’t think that’s his game.

Grant DuBose (86)

• 37 snap fasteners (3 inline, 19 slot, 15 wide)
• A lot of what we saw last week in the run game. Blocking could use a little refinement, but he knows what he’s supposed to do and gives 100% on every snap. You can almost hear him giggling while he blocks. A madman in the best sense
• Never gives up on a block. Takes everything in until the final whistle.

• There was a moment where he clearly had a false start, but casually made it seem like he was slowly changing internally. Perfect comedic timing.

• Tough day in the passing game. Part of it is him and part of it is the quarterback. He still needs to work on reading defenses on the fly and positioning himself against zone players with in-cutters. Seems like a hard worker. I would imagine he is actively working on improving that.
• I want this guy on the team.

Joel Wilson (#82)

• 35 snaps (2 backfield, 23 inline, 9 slot, 1 wide)
• Enthusiastic blocker, if a little greedy at times. Seems a moment too slow to let go when the play starts to come loose, which could earn him some points if he doesn’t clean it up.
• Able to read the defense’s changing movements well and adjust his blocking target as the game progresses.
• Knows where he needs to be.
• He won’t make a difference as a receiver, but when he gets the ball, he’ll get everything he can get and drop forward.
• Seems to be a good route runner, just not explosive
• Give him TE4

defense

Kalen King (#34)

• 42 snap fasteners (4 box, 27 slot, 11 outside)
• It looks a little awkward when the spot falls out of the slot.
• Much more comfortable outside, despite fewer snaps. Passes at safety and runs downfield on shorter routes. Sticks in man coverage with more comfortable moves.
• At least against the Broncos, he just looks too small in the slot. He gets swallowed up by power slot guys. He’s not a factor when running.
• When he was beaten on a pass, he tried to punch the ball away TWICE instead of tackling. In open space. That’s something you have to get a handle on.

Kitan Oladapo (#27)

• 32 snaps (5 defensive line, 3 box, 5 slot corner, 19 free safety)
• I liked him at the line. I saw him give the run a nice, tenacious lead.
• I also saw him miss a tackle in open space from a high position.
• I don’t see anything that would make me see him as anything other than a boxer. Can mix it up a bit at times, but throw him in an off-ball LB position and he’ll do fine.
• I don’t know if the defense is calling for it, but he falls back to Jabrill Peppers’ depth, the only high. Ridiculous stuff.
• I would imagine they gave him so much time at FS just to gauge how he fits there. Especially early on, he seems to fit best near the line on defense.

Brenton Cox Jr. (#57)

• 26 snaps (all on the defensive line)
• Plays with power, speed and tenacity
• Good speed, but no reliable counterattack. No notable inside counterattack.
• Played exclusively on the left side.
• Showed a decent rip move after a stunt
• Good engine. Never stops fighting
• Maybe a situational pass rusher who can cause chaos, but he doesn’t seem mature enough to provide a consistent pass rush on his own.

Luke Van Ness (#90)

• 17 snaps (all on the defensive line)
• Played exclusively on the right side
• I was still waiting for the run 3 seconds after the ball was kicked out in the other direction, so maybe I’m not fully paying attention yet.
• Zero pressure.
• Being easily rejected by a TE
• Extremely disappointing
• In fact, I said the words out loud: “This is awful, man.”
• He’s shown enough promise in the second half of 2023 to give me hope, but this was a pretty poor showing.

Javon Bullard (#20)

• 8 Snaps (5 Slot, 3 Free Safety)
• Really good communication on a switch release in the slot. He seemed to recognize a hand signal from the QB and then communicated with the other defender on how they should handle the releases from the stack.
• Extremely small sample size, but he seemed to know what he was doing.
• I’d like to see him at FS more often, but with McKinney holding that spot, Bullard will likely spend more time near the line and only occasionally return to FS.
• I’m very excited about him.

Ty’Ron Hopper (#59)

• 51 snaps (47 box, 3 slot, 1 free safety)
• This guy plays a lot of snaps.
• Nice move to weave through traffic and go into the tackle despite being held on the run.

• Nice play near the goal line to navigate through the mud and make the stop

• Not a great attacker.
• His style at the moment seems to be to put his feet in cement, wait for things to clear up a bit and then come together. That may just be his job, but he’s the player on the front line who’s going downhill the least.
• I’m not sure he knows what to do in coverage. You can see he’s overthinking. “If they’re doing a show run, I’ll go here, then I’ll go to this specific spot if it’s play action and look forward,” only to find that the ball was thrown in front of him while running backwards. That’s something that can be improved, but right now it’s pretty chaotic.
• If he is forced to play a lot early this season, the good playmakers will eat him up in the passing game.

Album listened to: Gileah Taylor – Slow parade; Lydia Loveless – Something else