After watching this game live and in person and meticulously reviewing the tape play by play, I can honestly say I’m good with never seeing a snap of Week 11’s Packer-Ravens matchup ever again. It’s tough for there to be bright spots in a 23-0 loss at home. To add injury to insult, Green Bay also lost Clay Matthews and Kenny Clark (amongst others) to injury. All in all it was a very tough game to stomach.

On offense there were basically five players who had winning performances. Evans, Linsley, Bakhtiari, Taylor, and Adams. These five all had really solid games and tried to put their team in a position to succeed. The same can’t be said for anyone else.

This is awesome work by the offensive line (sans the finish by Spriggs) and great pocket awareness and movement by Hundley. pic.twitter.com/wEWaFmIhWg

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

On defense there were a few more positive grades but this could have been even a worse performance if Baltimore’s offense was better. Joe Flacco missed multiple opportunities down the field, especially in the middle of the field and against Josh Hawkins. There were plays to be made down the field if Flacco was seeing the field a bit better.

While the defense wasn’t spectacular, the edge players as a whole graded out well. All five edge rushers graded out positively with a cumulative +3.95 grade.

Top 3 Offensive Performances

Jahri Evans +1.55
David Bakhtiari +1.45
Davante Adams +1.40

Top 3 Defensive Performances

Nick Perry +1.50
Kyler Fackrell +0.95
Kenny Clark +0.75

Bottom 3 Offensive Performances

Jason Spriggs -4.00
Brett Hundley -2.15
Devante Mays -2.10

Thoughts on Spriggs set @BigDuke50 pic.twitter.com/YzHpYeodqE

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 22, 2017

Bottom 3 Defensive Performances

Blake Martinez -2.05
Jake Ryan -1.95
Josh Hawkins -1.35

Quarterback

Brett Hundley -2.15

It probably goes without saying that this was a rough day and a step in the wrong direction for Brett Hundley. The way Hundley started off it looked like he was playing with a bit more confidence and was willing to let the ball rip a bit more. Unfortunately, he may have been a bit too confident and tried to make some throws that should never have been attempted. It seems like he has a grasp of the offense but he lacks the vision and patience in the passing game to be successful in the NFL. In college he was one read and run and it was always going to be an effort to develop him into a pocket passer. It seems as if the coaching staff hasn’t been able to coach him into the quarterback that some thought he could become.

Hundley needs to pull the trigger to Adams here. Not sure why he was gun shy.

You can also see the difference in separation between Adams & Nelson on this play. Obviously different routes but Adams wins clean & comes open. Nelson has his man fooled & still struggles to separate. pic.twitter.com/ysoOFDSk4j

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

Here’s the end zone view where you can see Adams pleading for the ball. pic.twitter.com/a8astB4dkM

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

Very next play Hundley misses Cobb cutting open and takes the worse checkdown. He needs to read this better and throw with anticipation. pic.twitter.com/ausmpVrWB2

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

More on Hundley from Cory: https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/corys-corner-whats-else-does-brett-hundley-have-151

Running Back

Jamaal Williams +0.25
Joe Kerridge +0.1
Aaron Ripkowski -0.15
Devante Mays -2.1

What a nightmare of a debut for Devante Mays. Not only did he fumble twice but he missed the hole entirely on his other carry and instead tried to bounce the run outside. Jamaal Williams was fine but unspectacular. Much like Hundley he lacks the vision needed to play at a high level. I love his energy and effort and he’s not afraid of contact, but that only gets you so far in the NFL. If you don’t have the necessary vision and can’t make people miss, it’s going to be tough to carve out a ton of yards at this level.

Really nice blitz pickup by Jamaal Williams in garbage time. pic.twitter.com/4vGJ1drd8K

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

Wide Receiver

Davante Adams +1.4
Trevor Davis +0.0
Randall Cobb -0.15
Geronimo Allison -0.2
Jordy Nelson -0.65

If you are having a tough time stomaching the Packers’ offense these days, I would recommend watching the top three receivers through the rest of the season. To me, this is one of the biggest storylines as the season winds down. There should no longer be any question that Davante Adams is receiver one on this team. He’s simply playing at a higher level and coming open with much more regularity than any of the other receivers. That said, Cobb & Nelson are set to make a huge chunk of cash next year while Adams is a free agent. Would Green Bay cut Cobb or Nelson in the offseason? It may seem unlikely but they absolutely have to find a way to keep Adams around in 2018.

Tight End

Richard Rodgers -0.55
Lance Kendricks -1.25

I have very little commentary for you here. Tight end was supposed to be a revelation in 2017. It hasn’t been. Back to the drawing board in 2018.

3rd & 2 and GB has the advantage here. No reason they shouldn’t be able to pick up 2 yards. Kendricks doesn’t seal his man & Williams needs to do a better job here. It didn’t effect the play but it’s a pitiful effort from Cobb too.

Also one hell of a stick from the Ravens LB. pic.twitter.com/H7WhOd6RiE

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

Offensive Line

Jahri Evans +1.55
David Bakhtiari +1.45
Corey Linsley +1.05
Lane Taylor +1.05
Justin McCray -0.5
Jason Spriggs -4.0

4th & 1 and this is all sorts of ugly.

Where are you going Jason Spriggs?! pic.twitter.com/wkrxgVev9r

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

I’m quite sure that Jason Spriggs was rusty coming off of injury and seeing his first significant playing time but my goodness was that a putrid effort and display by last years’ second round pick. Spriggs looked completely out of place, out of touch with the playbook, and not ready to help his team in any capacity. He saw limited snaps in this game and was still easily the worst graded player from this game. I don’t see Spriggs coming back from this start of his career to be a contributor and that’s a shame because he’s as gifted physically as they come.

In a brutal offensive performance, hats off to Linsley, Evans, Bakhtiari, and Taylor for working their asses off and playing solid football for all four quarters.

I know he wasn’t a 2nd round pick but give me Ulrick John at this point. It can’t be worse. pic.twitter.com/uNVY0IO4dT

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 23, 2017

Defensive Line

Kenny Clark +0.75
Quinton Dial +0.45
Dean Lowry +0.2
Lucas Patrick -0.05 (1 snap)
Mike Daniels -0.6

Nick Boyle ain’t blocking Dean Lowry... Just not happening pic.twitter.com/RtJX3ScJUD

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 21, 2017

I was crushed when Kenny Clark went down with his injury because he’s been one of the very few bright spots for this team this year. Clark has been fantastic and he’s going to be a Pro Bowl player for a long time to come. It’s great to see that it doesn’t seem to be serious and that he could still play this season. Quinton Dial meanwhile had his best game as a Packer while Mike Daniels had a very rare off-day. Clark’s injury and Daniel’s uncharacteristically poor play may have contributed to Ryan & Martinez’s low grades as well.

Get healthy bro.. @KCBoutThatLife pic.twitter.com/3HAv1Bn8G1

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 21, 2017

Edge

Nick Perry +1.5
Kyler Fackrell +0.95
Clay Matthews +0.55
Vince Biegel +0.5
Ahmad Brooks +0.45

#Packers rookie Vince Biegel played 16 2nd half snaps vs BAL...

Love seeing him knocking a RB around on a pass rush.. This defense needs some bullies pic.twitter.com/1oRDHq8XQz

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 21, 2017

Nick Perry was the star here and looked worth his contract in this game. As mentioned earlier the edge players all graded positively and helped keep both the pass and run game in check. Neither Collins nor Flacco were able to get in any real rhythm in this game and that was truly due to the play of these five edge rushers.

This is what GB expected a bit more of out of Clay & Brooks this year. Speed off the edge from Clay & power from Brooks. Meet at the QB. pic.twitter.com/hgM4Us1pFt

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 24, 2017

Linebacker

Jake Ryan -1.95
Blake Martinez -2.05

Both Ryan and Martinez seemed to be getting better week by week and progressing at a solid pace up until this game. Both players were completely out of their element against Baltimore. Both struggled to stay home in the passing game, especially with play action, and neither were able to get off blocks in the run game. It was a bad day all around for both and Green Bay will need a huge bounce back performance from their linebackers if they want to have any chance against Pittsburgh.
 

The Packers for some reason continue to bring pressure from Martinez off the edge and consistently get results like this. pic.twitter.com/T45TghEALn

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 24, 2017

Cornerback

Damarious Randall +0.25
Davon House +0.15
Josh Hawkins -1.35

Josh Hawkins is very lucky that Joe Flacco and the Ravens didn’t target him more often. He was consistently beat by the man across from him and would have given up multiple first downs on long third down plays had the ball come his way. House and Randall were fine and the touchdown Randall allowed was a great throw and catch against pretty solid pass coverage.

More on Randall from Zach: https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/cb-damarious-randalls-play-running-on-instinct-436

Safety

HaHa Clinton-Dix +0.6
Jermaine Whitehead +0.35
Josh Jones +0.25
Marwin Evans -0.6

Clinton-Dix had one really nice interception but dropped another that could have taken points off the board. This was HaHa’s highest rated game of the season and he was more aggressive all-around in this game. It was nice to finally see and hopefully that trend continues. Green Bay might have something in Jermaine Whitehead and I’d like to see him get in the game a bit more often.

4th quarter, still a 2 score game and a big 3rd down upcoming... this is what Green Bay’s defense looked like at the snap of the ball.

How can this keep happening?! At some point somebody needs to be held accountable for the miscommunications & confusion on defense!!! pic.twitter.com/9vun8WGPmO

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 25, 2017

To find an updated, running total of the grades throughout the season, click here: https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/grading-the-pack-regular-season-totals-454

Note: In these articles I often add tweets from Ben Fennell, Zach Kruse & Dusty Evely. All have been gracious enough to allow me to do so and are phenomenal follows. Please make sure you are supporting and following each of them! Thank you!

How I Grade

• Each player starts by getting a zero or neutral grade on a play. If they performed as expected on a play, their grade stays at zero.
• For a slightly above or below average play, the player gets graded -0.1 or +0.1. The vast majority of grades on the vast majority of plays are graded -0.1, 0, or +0.1.
• The highest and lowest grades on an individual play are +2.0 and -2.0 respectively. These would be large, game-changing plays.
• I won’t grade a play negatively if I cannot tell which player was at fault.
• Most of the time it’s impossible to tell the play, so I’m not grading on the execution of the play call as an NFL coach would.
• The goal of this exercise is to grade every snap over the course of the season to get a long-term view of which performers are performing well and which are not meeting expectations. This is very similar to what Pro Football Focus tries to achieve. Is it perfect? No. But what you are getting is a consistent grader who is watching specifically Packer games and putting multiple hours into every week to breakdown film and assign grades.
• Grades are for offense and defense only (including two point conversions). Special teams does not factor in.
• Preseason does not have All-22 film which makes this exercise even more challenging than usual
• Bigger plays in the game such as a 4^th and 1 or a two-point conversion are weighted higher than say a normal 1^st and 10 play to start the game.
• Lastly, the grades do not necessarily reflect who the best players are on an overall basis. As an example, Morgan Burnett may grade almost two full points below Jermaine Whitehead. Does this mean that Whitehead is the superior player to Burnett? No. It means that given the opportunities each player was given, Whitehead performed at a higher level for this individual game.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment below!