With the Green Bay Packers on a bye in week 4, we at APC have decided to do something a little different on Monday. Of course, instead of having Packers football to focus on, we had to watch games around the NFL, and since there are plenty of former Packers players active around the league, we thought it might be interesting to take a look and see how those players performed.
What we found was one especially impressive performance by a fan favorite and a few . So here’s a look at some of the better performances of the week for former Packers around the NFL.
John Kuhn, Saints
Let’s just get it out of the way. The Saints won 35-34 in San Diego, coming back from a 34-21 deficit with five minutes left. Fullback John Kuhn, who signed with the Saints in training camp, touched the ball just five times on the day (three rushes and two receptions), but scored a whopping three touchdowns - two on one-yard plunges at the goal line and one on a four-yard pass from Drew Brees. Kuhn’s second TD run was the tying score and set up the game-winning PAT, and took place with 1:57 left on the clock.
Davon House, Jaguars
House has gradually slipped in Jacksonville this year, and is now getting just the fourth-most snaps among Jaguars’ corners. He suited up for 30 of the team’s 78 defensive snaps, a far cry from previous weeks when he saw at least 88% of the team’s snaps in each game. Furthermore, he did not appear on the injury report, so the reduction in playing time does not appear to be the result of any physical limitation.
In fact, it seems that poor play is the reason for House’s reduction in playing time. Here are some thoughts from Ryan Day of Big Cat Country, SB Nation’s Jaguars blog:
Davon House is just completely underperforming. He's getting beat often by opposing receivers, so his problems are the most glaring they can be for a cornerback. It was forgivable last year because House showed really good recovery speed, but either the recovery speed is gone or receivers are getting smarter about him. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if he's benched.
Bummer.
Josh Sitton, Bears
As usual, Sitton played every offensive snap on Sunday, and he helped the Bears earn their first win of the season - a 17-14 victory over the Lions. Sitton’s blocking helped the Bears pick up over 400 total yards of offense as rookie running back Jordan Howard went over 100 yards rushing. Sitton’s pass-blocking was typically excellent as well.
Frank Zombo, Chiefs
Zombo got the start for Kansas City against Pittsburgh, due in large part to the injuries to Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. Playing right outside linebacker, Zombo recorded four total tackles (including one for loss on a reverse to Sammie Coates. In total, Zombo played about two-thirds of the Chiefs’ defense snaps, but Kansas City was beaten early and often in a 43-14 rout.
Jeremy Ross, Jets
The Packers’ former kick returner played in his first game of the season on Sunday for the Jets, returning one kickoff for 27 yards in a loss to the Seahawks. He also played one snap on offense.
Jon Ryan, Seahawks
Ryan punted the ball five times for an average of 40.6 yards and not one of his kicks was returned. However, before criticizing his average, note that four of his five punts landed inside the Jets’ 20-yard line.
Will Blackmon, Washington
This former Packers cornerback is now Washington’s starting free safety and he finished third on the team with seven tackles on Sunday. Blackmon was one of just two players (along with Josh Norman) to line up on every defensive snap in the 31-20 win over the Browns and he added ten reps on special teams as well.
Coming up on Monday night: Giants-Vikings
Both of these two teams have former Packers on their rosters. New York has Marshall Newhouse starting at right tackle. And believe it or not, the Vikings have just one former Packer right now: wide receiver Charles Johnson.