Thanks dude, awesome report. How did Brandon Jackson look, if I may ask?

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Very good analysis, doddpower. I missed a big chunk of the second half, but I think I agree with pretty much everything you wrote. One possible exception is Graham Harrell. I didn't think he looked terrible, although I agree that he's not yet ready to be a good backup QB.

My knock on Matt Flynn last year, even after the nice performance against the Patriots, was that he lacked arm strength. I saw no improvement in that area against the Browns. It was all dinking and dunking. He's a good game manager, and I was especially impressed with this two-minute drill at the end of the half, but I think that if teams get a chance to game plan for him in the regular season, they will challenge him to throw the ball downfield, and I see no evidence yet that he'll be able to do it with any kind of effectiveness. That's why I don't think Flynn will be a hot commodity on the open market.

I thought Harrell looked stronger-armed than Flynn, though of course he is far less polished. Possibly, though, Harrell looked worse than he is because he was playing with the third and fourth stringers. The protection was terrible and the route running was chaotic.

To answer Nerdmann's question, Brandon Jackson had a few nice runs, but nothing that made me think he will be a good #1 RB. He benefited from a poor performance by the Packers' second string defense. Watching Lee and Bush run around out there in Cleveland, it seems like a miracle that they played as well as they did in the second half of the Super Bowl.

I loved the big hit and wrap-up by Morgan Burnett, followed by a nice tackle on the perimeter a little while later. I didn't like his run defense last year, but he looked tough against the Browns. That's a very good sign.

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Greg it is true that Harrell was supported by the scrubs and that added to his poor showing. Keep in mind if he had the 1st team offense around him, he would also be facing the 1st team defense. Now I know this was Cleveland but having the better players on the field would more or less off set and Harrell would still look a weak. Hold the ball too long. Make some poor decisions and so on. He needs 2 years min.

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I don't think he's ready to play with the first stringers yet either, but I think it's hard for backup QBs to look good with the third and fourth stringers. I don't think it is completely offset by the lower talent level of the defense, because when the game is chaotic, the defense has the advantage.

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It's really hard to take any meaningful measurements in the first preseason game, especially in light of all the lost offseason work this year. What I saw last night was pretty much what I expected to see, and pretty much like what Training Camp looks like most years. The veterans still have rust to knock off, and the rookies are still raw.

I was very pleased with Cobb, and I thought Flynn looked good (considering my lowered expectations). I missed the beginning of the game, and didn't get to see Sparks run at all, unfortunately. He was the one I was looking forward to seeing the most.

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^^^

Totally agreed, with the lost of off season work this year, this team is exactly where it needs to be. I'm not worried about the defense, I highly doubt Matthews is looking to get the sacks in pre-season & risking to injure himself.

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Starks had an ankle injury. Anyone hear how serious it was? Thanks.

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I agree that's there no way we can say too much about Harrell, but as I mentioned he seemed to lack intangibles such as pocket awareness and such which shouldn't really matter what players he is surrounded by. He should be able to at least come close to feeling pressure whether he is playing with 1st or 4th stringers. Also, he was playing with 3rd and 4th stringers, but he was also playing against 3rd and 4th stringers. Bottom line is I expected more. Perhaps he will significantly improve, but he looked borderline lost out there. Arm strength is one thing, but a QB is going to need much more than that to succeed. Hopefully it was just early season rust. We shall see.

Brandon Jackson had some nice crisp runs. It was strange seeing a member of our team this soon in a different uniform. However, as mentioned he still doesn't appear to be a number one RB but his pass protection skills alone will make him a nice addition to that team. He is what he is, but he is good at what he specializes in.

I agree with others that Pat Lee and Jarrett Bush looked bad and I can't believe they played decent in the super bowl. Unless Lee makes some big changes soon, we might be watching his last games as a Packer.

I thought Cobb looked REALLY good. Very quick and sure-handed. I watched the game again looking for "lazy" routes and didn't see any. There was one play where Rich Gannon (TV announcer) criticized him for not getting enough separation, but that seemed like a very picky criticism to me. Maybe he was just running the route that he was supposed to run. At any rate, he made an excellent catch on the play.

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