Fri. Final: Packers 28, Cardinals 20
Next game: Friday, August 26th at Indianapolis
Packers Gameday at 5:00 p.m. on Newsradio 620 WTMJ, live online coverage here and postgame on Live at 10 on TODAY'S TMJ4. Post your comments below about today's game!
4th Quarter
10:04 p.m. Cardinals' 3rd Drive 1:38
Drive start: Arizona 20
The Cardinals get their chance to push for free football, and have 80 yards to go thanks to "Thunderleg" Tim Masthay and his 40 yard net on a 60 ayrd punt.
Housler with a 17-yard gain to start this huge, life-at-stake drive. (OK, I'm being overmelodramatic.)
Great tackle by Patrick Lee to stop Williams from getting out of bounds.
False start by Arizona and it costs them five yards and 10 second of clock since it was under a minute.
Hello....Arizona has 11 penalties. Wisenhunt won't be happy.
3rd-9 at Arizona 37: Williams stopped by Ross short of the first down and they don't get out of bounds...tick...tock...tick...tock...
4th-2 at Arizona 46 - Houseler drops the pass that ends the game.
9:55 p.m. Packers' 3rd Drive 4:13
Drive start: Green Bay 1
How about a 99-yard TD pass? Nope...belly run. 2 yards.
Gurley doesn't go 97 yards, but 12 yards. Hopefully the last drive of the game. Can they make the four-minute drill work?
Harrell finds Gurley just short of a first down as the clock drains down toward two minutes.
Wait...a clock drizzling? Does a clock softly fall like rain? OK, bad analogy.
Harrell with the keeper and runs for a first down....sliding along the sideline, but NOT out of bounds. Smart.
As the clock moves below two minutes, so the crowd leaves as they start to head down the freeway toward Milwaukee. (This is a gold package game, by the way.)
3rd-8 at GB 41: Saine loses a yard. Arizona line owned Green Bay's offensive front.
9:49 p.m. Cardinals' 2nd Drive 5:03
Drive start: Arizona 20
Bartel had Sampson wide open. I mean wide open at the Packers' 35. Larry said it best: "Whoops." Wayne: "That's 45 yards worth of whoops."
Already in the red zone with a throw to Smith.
Larry: "if the Packers don't start sniffing up, Wayne, we have the potential for you-know-what."
Brandian Ross decides not to let that happen. He, however, should have stayed in the end zone after the interception. He ran it to the one.
9:38 p.m. Packers' 2nd Drive 10:45
Green Bay 28, Arizona 20
Harrell-Taylor 6 yd TD pass
Drive start: Green Bay 13
Graham Harrell time. He needs to impress.
Gurley makes the catch on the one-step drop delivery by Harrell and slams for a first down along the sideline.
Taylor had a football go off his back. That definitely belongs in the football follies hall of fame. He just never turned to look for the ball. Keep your head on a swivel, young fella.
Nance does well to make the turn off left end. 13 yards on the ground. Best run of the night. Which does not bode well for the first team.
What? Too many men in the huddle. Oops. Five-yard malfeasance.
Nance again on the draw play and a good job of shiftiness to get loose from some possible loss-of-yardage tackled.
Harrell to West, and West gets his helmet thrown off but still keeps the ball moving. Heck of a job. But the refs put a rule in play, stopping play when a helmet gets taken off.
Harrell using the keep pass and Robinson with a sliding catch underneath Tommy Irvin's coverage. It's money. Just money. To the GB 30.
Randall Cobb has a left knee bruise. Don't expect him back in the game. The fact that Wayne had to emphasize the bruise shows people care about him.
West breaks about six seconds worth of tackles after a heck of a throw from Harrell. The guy is a competitor. He knows Cobb wants that 5th WR slot, and he doesn't want to give it up.
Harrell directs traffic like crazy and Nance shifts and slips to the left...this guy is earning a job. Really earning a job. He can get a few extra yards where some guys can't.
Harrell...end zone...Taylor! Sweet.
9:29 p.m. Cardinals' 1st Drive 14:48
Drive start: Arizona 20
3rd-2 at Ariz 28: Eli Joseph couldn't hold his ground as a sweep came his way, and Arizona gained a first down with Smith.
Handoff Smith. Handoff Smith. Arizona wants to work on its run game. Get this guy lathered up.
Just saw a shot of Francois: he has the whole state of Texas on a tattoo on his arm. Yep, they got state pride down there.
3rd-8 at Arizona 45: and the crowd on its feet. Hall incomplete thanks to a bit of a tip of the ball. Well, maybe not. It was just a bad duck. Worse than Daffy Duck after being shot by Elmer.
9:27 p.m. Packers' 1st Drive 15:00
Green Bay 21, Arizona 20
Flynn-West 97 yd TD pass
Drive start: Green Bay 3
What can you say? Big plays kill. Lovely.
3rd Quarter
9:21 p.m. Cardinals' 3rd Drive 1:30
Drive start: Arizona 30
Another 3rd down test: 3rd-4 at GB 37: DeMarco Smith had the ball overthrown by Bartel. He had a step on Bush.
9:14 p.m. Packers' 2nd Drive 5:12
Cobb gets his chance five yards in the end zone, and he gets the ball past the 20 yard line. Does his job.
Schofield with another stop on the kickoff. Hopefully more playing time for the guy with more motor than most, even in the pro game.
As time winds down, I have to credit Alex Green for the dreds...but I hope he doesn't get tackled by the hair. Owie.
3rd-13 at GB 31 (thanks for Borel's false start...this guy may have found his way out of camp with these mistakes): Flynn hit from behind and fumbled...and Nance gets to it at the 26. Again, credit Schofield. Fumble forced. Just like Coach Doeren taught him at UW. But not good for Green Bay.
9:04 p.m. Cardinals' 2nd Drive 10:57
Arizona 20, Green Bay 14
Smith 1 yd TD run
Drive start: Arizona 37
Smith crosses into Packers territory thanks to missed tackles, again. 12-yard gain. The old Washington Redskins "counter trey" play.
Bartel getting lots of time in the passing game, and the Packers aren't getting to the QB. Bartel is picking and choosing his targets.
Sampson with a couple catches and more missed tackles. Notice how the fundamental technique of tackling suffers without reps in the offseason.
Larry: "Eli Joseph using his butt to make a play" on a tackle of Smith.
3rd-2 at GB 7: Bartel uses play action and Sherman makes a first down catch, but not into the end zone. Larry McCarren says it best: "coverage malfeasance."
1st-goal at GB 2: Wynn with a heck of a stuffing of Smith at the one yard line. This is a character test.
2nd goal: not so successful in stopping Smith.
8:58 p.m. Packers' 1st Drive...we mean it. 13:07
Drive start: Green Bay 20
Holliday ate up the Packers' running back, Green. I mean ate him and spat him out. Bones being discovered near the Green Bay backfield.
3rd-8 at GB 22: make that 3rd-14 after a false start. Then, O'Brien Schofield ate up Matt Flynn, forcing his delivery to end up on the sideline.
Schofield is a fantastic guy. Got to know him a while as I covered the Badgers. Wonderful guy. Just wearing the wrong jersey tonight.
8:46 p.m. Cardinals' 1st Drive 14:49
Green Bay 14, Arizona 13
Bartel-Williams 7 yd TD pass
Drive start: Green Bay 33
And a run around right end turns into a run into the rear end of a blocker for Arizona, but it's still seven yards.
Ryan Williams ran the football there, and as he ran the ball his knee seemed to get bent backward, his leg underneath the tackler, Wiliams, and he had to get carted off the field.
3rd-4 at GB 22: Smith making a catch behind first down territory, and a missed tackle produced a first down. Elmore to blame for that one.
Bartel finds Williams, the wide receiver, past Sam Shields. Great pattern run. Shields didn't turn around well enough to react.
8:42 p.m. Packers' 1st Drive 15:00
Drive start: it didn't.
Matt Flynn stays in as the Packers look to divide this game into thirds for the QB's.
Borel getting basically nothing to start the drive, as they start at the seven yard line thanks to too much lateral running on his part.
Thankfully, due to Arizona's 837th penalty, it's a rekick. Borel taks advantage and brings it to the 35 yard line...OH NO! Fumble! Pathetic. You just lost your job, Borel. Arizona ball.
2nd Quarter
8:24 p.m. Cardinals' 3rd Drive 0:34
Drive start: Arizona 20
With John Skelton at QB: throws to Doucet get Arizona downfield with the clock stopping thanks to out of bounds throws.
3rd-7 at Arizona 34: deep bomb to Doucet who was wide open...and that puts Feely in another field goal position, though that will need a cannon leg from Feely to make it.
Nope.
8:15 p.m. Packers' 2nd Drive 3:06
Green Bay 14, Arizona 6
Green 2 yd TD run
Drive start: Arizona 39
Randall Cobb! You cannot muff punt return attempts, especially when you are less than 40 yards away from paydirt.
Phew. Packers ball.
They put in their 2nd teamers, and the first play was a not-so-lovely picture of Flynn getting spun around like a tilt-a-whirl at a county fair. Williams with the sack.
Flynn finds Quarless, who may be playing for a job. Nice catch for a 12-yard gain and a better 3rd down situation.
2-minute offense and the Cardinals with their 359th penalty. Neutral zone infraction.
Green gets a screen pass for his first touch and he slithered through tacklers and blockers like me driving through rush hour traffic to get to first and goal. Fantastic play design and execution.
1st-goal at Ariz 2: Green up the left side...nope. Holliday, yes that Vonnie...Holliday.
2nd-goal at Ariz 2: Johnson leads Green to paydirt!
8:09 p.m. Cardinals' 2nd Drive 4:54
Drive start: Arizona 20
A rare no-runback in preseason. Don't practice kickoffs nine yards out.
"Flaggy," like my son would say. Holding. Arizona sounds like Green Bay against the Bears in the first meeting last year.
"Flaggy" again. False start. Wisenhunt must be sickened.
The second team QBs are both either in action or warming up.
Williams was wide open with a deep pass and Peprah gave him all the room in the world...thankfully, WIlliams dropped it.
3rd-23 at Ariz 7: pass nearly picked. Peprah with a knock-away and Shields nearly got his hands on Mr. Pigskin.
7:59 p.m. Packers' 1st Drive 8:20
Green Bay 7, Arizona 6
Rodgers-Jennings 20 yd TD pass
Drive start: Green Bay 23
Uh oh. Concussion possible. C.J. Wilson.
Cobb gets across the 20, starting five yards deep in the end zone. Credit Cobb and the wedge.
Rodgers with the bootleg and the keep pass and it's pitch-and-catch time.
Grant with the extra speed after the cutback...the first time we've seen it this preseason. Nine yard gain. Nice.
No-huddle time. Finley with a first-down catch. Pitch-and-catch. They make it work twice.
Three times, a Finley! 17-yard gain to the left side. This kid, when he gets going, can be the best tight end in football.
Grant cuts back after a right-end run and gets seven yards. Great misdirection, and Clifton and Lang got extra blocks.
Rodgers - back shoulder throw to Jennings for the score!!!! Perfect throw!
7:46 p.m. Cardinals' 1st Drive continued from 1st quarter
Arizona 6, Green Bay 0
Feely 53 yd FG
3rd-1 at GB 18: well, make it a first down after much conferencing to figure out that it was a neutral zone infraction.
Trainers talking with C.J. Wilson about whatever his ailment is. The Packers need some bodies at D-line.
Wells with nine yards off left end and Fitzgerald does a little pushing and shoving of a D-lineman. Not smart.
Morgan Burnett beats Fitzgerald to the football on a deep pass, making up for getting burned on a cut by the all-world Fitzgerald.
3rd-1 at Ariz 32: Wynn missed an arm tackle, letting Wells get the first down.
Arizona is showing that the Packers' first-team defense, without Clay Matthews, is vulnerable to the run.
3rd-7 at Ariz 37: Kolb to a diving Housler, the third-rounder at TE who can run a 4.4 40. Wow. First down.
Credit Arizona for great ball control.
As Arizona got across midfield, Hawk got nailed for illegal contact to add a five-yard malfeasance to a Kolb scramble.
Another missed tackle. Nick Collins against Wells. Fundamentals, people. Fundamentals.
Flag after flag after flag. Or as my little son says, "flaggy." Nine penalties, five against Arizona.
Kolb to Wells on a well delivered middle screen. A.J. Hawk missed the INT, and Wells just followed his convoy across the middle....well, never mind. Wideout not getting set after going in motion. 20-yard gain negated.
Collins! That could have been a pick six. He may have been thinking "run with the ball" instead of catch that interception.
3rd-18 at Ariz 49: Kolb has forever, find Houslerand moved the ball to the 35. Field goal range for the cannon-legged Feely.
1st Quarter
7:43 p.m. Cardinals' 3rd Drive :54
Drive start: Arizona 9
The Packers not really content to play field position, but their mid-field failures make it so on their first two drives.
Wells again in the run game and again, Pickett eats him for lunch.
Doucet with a catch, and a short gain to the 18. No first down...and it's a time to run to the fridge for a cold one.
7:31 p.m. Packers' 2nd Drive 06:09
Drive start: Green Bay 20
A late move by Alex Green to get the ball out of the end zone and return it. Not so smart a move, but they get to the 20.
Ryan Grant gets his first carry...and good defensive line play limited Grant to just a yard.
Grant with a MUCH better hole...but Grant didn't have the extra burst of speed to get past Darnell Dockett.
3rd-6 at GB 25: ARod runs it himself and dives forward for a first down. It's OK if you slide in preseason, Aaron. But he got the first down. He's a competitor. What do you expect.
Finley gets his first pass...hadn't touched a football in...how long? Good to get him in the game, give him a little lather in the passing game.
First sack against Rodgers tonight...and Campbell used the Reggie White swim move to down ARod.
3rd-16 at GB 27: Rodgers deep...DRIVER WITH A FANTASTIC CATCH AND CARTWHEEL FOR A FIRST DOWN!
(Yes, the all caps was purposeful for effect.)
May NFL Films have had a camera available to use that for its balletic-style slo-mo follies features.
3rd-7 at GB 47: it becomes 3rd-2 at Ariz 48 after a neutral zone infraction.
And after that...another sack. Dockett against Josh Sitton, reaching Rodgers.
7:17 p.m. Cardinals' 2nd Drive 12:44
Arizona 3, Green Bay 0
Feely 39 yd FG
Drive start: Arizona 13
1st play: Wells went up against a Packers' blitz and Woodson chased him from the back side, throwing him down like a rag doll. If Woodson doesn't catch him, Wells is running down I-43 in Manitowoc County.
Effective passing game with the throw to Roberts for a first down. Simply finding a hole in a zone. Cleveland had some success there last week, too. Something for Capers and company to review.
Wells again. Past the first level on a draw play out of the shotgun. Green Bay seems to be a bit vulnerable to the draw, something blitzing teams like Green Bay need to watch out for.
Beanie Wells then had to hold A.J. Hawk to prevent him from putting Kevin Kolb six feet under.
3rd-8 at Ariz 35: with Green Bay in nickel, Arizona goes to Fitzgerald who pushed off on Williams a ton more than Wiliams did to Fitzgerald...but of course, the all-star gets the break.
Larry: "I think Larry Fitzgerald gets away with murder."
Wells again, and to the outside, and the Packers' line and linebackers are getting gashed. Five carries, 27 yards?
Kolb to Roberts and he burns Shields, who committed double one-on-one malfeasance by a missed tackle.
Finally! A loss of a yard by Wells, with Wilson making the stop.
SACK TIME! Ryan PIckett stayed at home and after Kolb scrambled following 10 minutes, seemingly, in the pocket, Pickett and Green put 700 lbs. of manhood plopping on top of Kolb.
3rd-22 at GB 36: Fitzgerald with a fantastic one-hand grab at the 21 to set up the field goal attempt.
Uh, wait a minute. It's challenge time. McCarthy is throwing the flag.
Replay...and I think McCarthy's gonna lose this one. Fitzgerald made a patented spectacular catch.
7:10 p.m. Packers' 1st Drive 13:55
Drive start: Green Bay 35
Free play! Jennings incomplete, but no problem there...the defense jumped before the line.
We'll see how T.J. Lang does in this starting assignment.
Driver had nothing but green grass five yards around him as Rodgers found him for a first down. Arizona's secondary IS suspect.
Max protect and Rodgers with a perfect play fake. He had all day...but with few receivers in the pattern, it was not much challenge for the suspect AZ DB's.
3rd-6 at Ariz 45: false start. Yeeeeeeeeesh. Finley. Yes, he hasn't seen game action in a while, but no excuse.
3rd-11 at midfield: Rodgers threw into a double team while a stutnting defensive line got past T.J. Lang to pressure the franchise...I mean Rodgers.
7:05 p.m. Cardinals' 1st Drive 15:00 left in first quarter
Drive start: Arizona 14
Five yards deep and Stephens-Howling runs it out. Taken down at the 14...but again, like we said last week, they'll be returning kicks all the time in preseason so that they get practice with live bullets, if you will.
A guy named Beanie running the football in the NFL. He just asks for punishment. He does gain a yard or two.
Larry: "Trying to move a guy like Ryan Pickett off the line of scrimmage is like the impossible dream."
3rd-8 at GB 16: Kolb's incompletion after a scramble will stand up because of a hold against the guy trying to hold back the Freezer, B.J. Raji.
Great defensive set of downs.
Pregame
7:03 p.m.
Coin toss time. Hawk, Jennings, Bush the captains tonight. Daryn Colledge a Cardinals captain.
Arizona calls tails and gets it. They will start with the football.
6:55 p.m.
They're doing the defensive introductions. Good to let the guys who do the biggest grunt work make the big individual intros.
And it's the Midwest Shrine Game, a wonderful fundraiser for hospitals that help burn victims. Great charity, even with those funny maroon hats.
6:51 p.m.
Wayne: "If you're not here in Green Bay, you're missing a spectacular August evening."
Well, it's pretty spectacular across Wisconsin, but it is special to be in the most storied locale in football.
6:41 p.m.
Yes...it is good, it is right, and the energy is incredible, even if it's preseason. The Packers are back at Lambeau Field, playing there for the first time since winning the Super Bowl.
Wow.
6:05 p.m.
The Packers now have a preseason contest where the first team will have, probably, a lot more time in action than they had before.
First preseason games sort of give the first dip into the pool, if you will, for first team squads.
The second and third games will mean probably a quarter-and-a-half of first team action, perhaps more.
This team won't be dramatically challenged by Arizona's secondary. The real test comes next week against Indianapolis.
Still, it's about perfecting what you do.
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