Five Disappointing Performances from Packers-Saints

With two turnovers in as many weeks, is Tyler Davis playing himself off the roster? Plus the adventures of Amari Rodgers and more from Friday's preseason game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have been bullish on the potential of tight end Tyler Davis.

“I think we might have something there,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after a draft in which he did not fortify the tight end group.

Speaking on Aug. 10, Gutekunst again talked about Davis, who transitioned from quarterback to tight end at Connecticut.

“Certainly, he can run. You guys have seen him out there. He’s got really good speed,” Gutekunst said. “He was a position conversion and that takes time. We had been through that with Bobby [Robert Tonyan]. It’s hard to be patient sometimes with those guys to get to the other side of it, but I think if you do – you know he was a quarterback that turned wide receiver that turned tight end. So, smart kid that can really run. He’s still very raw in some ways with the position, but I think you see him consistently make plays and he’s got the kind of speed that I think defenses need to take notice of.”

The only thing to take notice of through two preseason games are two massive blunders. Last week at San Francisco, his red-zone drop turned into an interception and potential 14-point swing on the scoreboard. And in Friday night’s victory over the Saints, Davis’ fumble just moments after Micah Abernathy’s big-time interception also produced a potential 14-point swing.

In 24 snaps against New Orleans, he had one catch for 7 yards that resulted in the turnover and one offensive holding that wiped out a 17-yard completion.

If the 53-man roster were being picked today, Gutekunst would have quite a dilemma. Davis does have a skill-set that’s worth developing. And with Tonyan coming off a torn ACL and perhaps not ready for 40 snaps per game, Davis is the only player capable of filling that particular niche in the offense. But turnovers lose games. You’d never play a running back with two lost fumbles in two games. What’s the difference at tight end?

Here are four more disappointing performances.

WR Amari Rodgers

Gutekunst traded up in the third round to land Amari Rodgers last year. He was supposed to be the slot threat the Packers had missed since Randall Cobb’s prime years.

Instead, Rodgers’ career is going nowhere fast as he has been unable to leap-frog over Cobb on the depth chart. He had two splash plays against San Francisco but also ran, in Aaron Rodgers’ words, a “terrible route” on Jordan Love’s third interception of that game. Against the Saints, he caught 2-of-5 passes for 5 yards. He failed to hang onto the ball on what would have been an 18-yard catch on third-and-5 late in the third quarter.

While he’s made leaps-and-bounds improvement as a returner, he inexplicably tried to pick up a bouncing ball near the goal line on an 81-yard bomb by Saints punter Blake Gillikin; he was fortunate that he didn’t touch it. A few minutes later, Rodgers fielded Gillikin’s 61-yard punt at the 4 and a holding penalty on the return set up the offense at the 2.

DT Devonte Wyatt

Held out of last week’s game for precautionary reasons, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95 in the photo) made his professional debut against the Saints. He played 26 no-impact snaps. He was in on two tackles on running plays, but those gained 5 and 6 yards. And in 16 pass-rushing snaps, he never got within a country mile of the quarterback. His quiet night wasn’t an anomaly. He’s been pretty quiet on the practice field, too.

The Packers are loaded on the defensive line, so it’s not as if they need him to be a major contributor from the get-go. But it’s not exactly ideal to have a first-round pick buried on the depth chart, either.

Outside Linebackers

The Packers’ outside linebackers were one of the stories coming out of the two days of joint practices. It wasn’t just Rashan Gary and Preston Smith creating mayhem. It was a parade to the quarterback, with returning players Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai and La’Darius Hamilton as well as newcomers Kingsley Enagbare and Kobe Jones marching into the Saints’ backfield again and again.

That wasn’t the case in the game, though. While Enagbare had a couple late pressures – including one that resulted in a horse-collar penalty – it was a quiet night for the pass rushers. Undrafted rookie Chauncey Manac had a 0-yard sack, but the only quarterback hit (official stats) in 77 pass-rushing opportunities (Pro Football Focus) was delivered by Hamilton. PFF credited Enagbare with a team-high four pressures, including one in which he ducked under the right tackle to flush Ian Book from the pocket. But, in addition to the horse collar, he was guilty of the hold on Amari Rodgers’ aforementioned return.

In totality, the group wasn’t bad. It’s just that nobody jumped to the forefront. So, the battle to be that No. 3 outside linebacker will continue for another week, which isn’t a bad thing.

Special teams

There’s no reason to slam the panic button after Friday’s performance, but the Packers’ special teams performed poorly against the Saints.

First, there were the physical miscues. Lowlighted by a 59-yard return that included a missed tackle by Shawn Davis, Green Bay’s kickoff-coverage unit allowed four returns of 25-plus yards. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s kickoff-return unit produced only a feeble 18-yard return by Rico Gafford. And there was Rodgers’ aforementioned reach of the ball on the 81-yard punt and Enagbare’s holding penalty.

And then there were the mental issues of having 12 guys on the field for one punt return and 10 for another. That’s going to happen in preseason, when the No. 1 unit for the game might be a mish-mash of first- and second-teamers on the practice field. But that’s on the coaches to prevent. Shouldn’t coordinator Rich Bisaccia or his two assistants be counting? If Andy Herman of Packer Report can count 10 players from the press box before the snap, then certainly one of the coaches should be able to do the same, right?

“It is what it is. That’s something we’re well aware of and we’ll clean up,” LaFleur said.

On the bright side, veteran punter Pat O’Donnell had an excellent night (four punts, three inside the 20, only one returned), kicker Ramiz Ahmed made both field goals and both point-after attempts and long snapper Jack Coco was on the money.

One More Disappointment But Six Positives

Coach Matt LaFleur counted five drops, including two by rookie receiver Romeo Doubs.

On the bright side, there were a lot of positive performances, ranging from former first-round pick Jordan Love to a safety who was only recently added to the roster.

“I think Jordan, you have to give him a lot of credit, too,” LaFleur said. “Just being receptive to all the coaching, but also learning from the other guys. I don’t know how you guys see it, but the way I see it and seeing it on a daily basis, I think he’s light-years ahead of where he was a year ago. So, I think if you asked our guys in that locker room, every one of them would tell you they’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and I think we would all agree in that locker room, he’s one of the most improved guys over the last year.”