Most casual NFL fans had a similar reaction when they watched Randall Cobb catch a 32-yard touchdown pass and later return a kickoff 108 yards for another score in Green Bay’s 42-34 shootout win against New Orleans on Thursday night:
If you didn’t know who Randall Cobb was before Thursday night, now you know.
(Mike Roemer – AP)

“Who the heck is Randall Cobb?!?!?”

Randall Cobb is the Packers’ 2011 second-round draft pick, a 5-10, 192-pound receiver from Kentucky whose name is now etched in NFL record books after he tied the record for the longest kickoff return for a touchdown. And now you can expect him to be the hottest pickup in fantasy football circles this week.

Cobb is also the fifth wide receiver on the Packers’ depth chart, which is a clear indicator of just how scary the Green Bay offense could be this season.

Aaron Rodgers clinically picked apart the Saints’ porous secondary, hitting top target Greg Jennings with a 7-yard touchdown pass on the team’s opening drive. Less than four minutes later, Jordy Nelson hauled in a 3-yard pass for another score and by the end of the night, Rodgers had completed 27 of 35 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Nine different players caught passes from Rodgers, highlighting a receiving corps that could be the deepest in the league.

Jennings led the way with seven receptions for 89 yards, Nelson caught six balls for 77 yards, much-hyped tight end Jermichael Finley
caught three for 53 and new proud papa Donald Driver
caught four passes for 41 yards.

If you’re a fantasy football enthusiast, this is the type of offense that inspires both drool and angry fist shakes. On one hand, anyone on the Packers seems capable of putting up big numbers this season. On the other, you may never know who will lead the team in catches or carries or touchdowns in a given week. (Is Cobb the next Donald Driver or the next Frisman Jackson?)

For the NFL fan, however, Thursday’s offensive showcase was perfect kickoff to the 2011 season and a clear sign that the Packers have a legitimate shot at defending their Super Bowl title.

Read More: Aaron Rodgers (QB – GBP), James Jones (WR – GBP), Jermichael Finley (TE – GBP), Jordy Nelson (WR – GBP), Randall Cobb (WR – GBP), Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers took care of business against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football, 42-34, giving us a thrilling matchup in the NFL’s first game of the regular season. 

We learned plenty of things on Thursday night starting with QB Aaron Rodgers being deserving of all the offseason hype he received. SB Nation’s Acme Packing Company handed out three things they learned from the Packers in Thursday night’s game. Take a look at what they said about the things they learned and here’s my take:

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1. Jermichael Finley and Randall Cobb are going to be major weapons this year, while Jordy Nelson has improved. Finley had three catches for 53 yards while Cobb added two touchdowns, one through the air and one on a kickoff return. Finley was injured last year and Cobb’s a rookie so this is an added offensive explosion for the Packers. And let’s not forget Nelson who had six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Who needs Greg Jennings? (Actually, the Packers did as he was their leading receiver on Thursday night)

2. The consequence of No. 1 is that James Jones is now offensive option No. 6 in the passing game, or so it seems. Without Finley and Cobb last year, Jones was a solid option catching 50 balls for 679 yards. This year his role may be lower. He caught one ball for one yard on Thursday night. It’s not a bad offense if James Jones is your sixth option in the passing game.

3. We can have an elite YPC with two slightly above average, but not great running backs. RB James Starks and RB Ryan Grant shared the load last night combining for 97 yards rushing on 22 carries. The Packers offense is centered on the pass so as long as they can get solid contributions like that in the running game, they’re going to be elite.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A Super Bowl hangover and the NFL lockout weren’t about to slow down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The New Orleans Saints couldn’t keep up.

Rodgers came out on top in a memorable opening-night duel with Drew Brees, and the Packers made a goal-line stand on the final play of the game to beat the Saints 42-34 Thursday night.

Packers rookie Randall Cobb caught a touchdown from Rodgers and ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a score in the third quarter — tying a league record for the longest kickoff return in history.

Rodgers threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns.

“It’s a good night for us,” Rodgers said. “I felt good about the way that I was throwing the ball. Missed a couple I probably could have hit.”

Brees passed for 419 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Jimmy Graham that closed out the scoring with 2:15 left.

But Brees put more emphasis on a statistic other than passing yardage.

“The biggest stat for us that’s disappointing is our red-zone efficiency. We were one of five,” Brees said. “That’s not going to win you a lot of games, especially on the road in this type of environment against this team.”

After a Green Bay punt, Brees marched the Saints to the Packers’ 9-yard line and spiked the ball with three seconds left. Green Bay’s A.J. Hawk was called for pass interference and the ball was placed at the 1.

Led by Clay Matthews and safety Morgan Burnett, the Packers’ defense swarmed Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram short of the goal line and the game was over.

“You’ve got to get a yard,” Ingram said. “It’s goal line to win the game, got to get a yard.”

Of the final-play drama, Matthews said, “It’s not what you envision. Obviously, you’d love to have a blowout. But I think it represents everything that we preach, which is finishing games. And it comes down to the very last play — we win, or they have an opportunity to tie it up. I think it’s fantastic to overcome that adversity, get the stop that we needed and get off the field with the victory.”

It was a big night for the Packers’ Donald Driver, who tied James Lofton’s franchise mark for career yards receiving with 9,656.

Rodgers wanted to get him the record at home.

“We tried to get him the ball again, we just didn’t have an opportunity,” Rodgers said.

Cobb’s big return gave the Packers a 35-20 lead, but the game wasn’t over. Darren Sproles answered with a long kickoff return of his own, and Brees drove the Saints for a 29-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson.

The Saints forced a punt and moved to the Packers’ 7-yard line, but failed on a fourth-down conversion attempt and gave the ball back to the Packers.

Green Bay drove again, and Rodgers handed the ball to John Kuhn on third-and-goal for a 1-yard touchdown and a 42-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.

If Thursday’s game was a referendum on the importance of player-led team workouts during the lockout, the results are in: The workouts Brees organized over the summer weren’t enough to help the Saints take down the champions, and the Packers’ decision not to get together as a team didn’t seem to hurt them.

“That stuff does not have a major impact on the game,” Rodgers said.

For the NFL, Thursday’s opener was a chance to stamp out lingering memories of a tumultuous offseason filled with tense and ugly — but ultimately successful — labor negotiations.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A Super Bowl hangover and the NFL lockout weren’t about to slow down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The New Orleans Saints couldn’t keep up.

Rodgers came out on top in a memorable opening-night duel with Drew Brees, and the Packers made a goal-line stand on the final play of the game to beat the Saints 42-34 Thursday night.

Packers rookie Randall Cobb caught a touchdown from Rodgers and ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a score in the third quarter — tying a league record for the longest kickoff return in history.

Rodgers threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns.

“It’s a good night for us,” Rodgers said. “I felt good about the way that I was throwing the ball. Missed a couple I probably could have hit.”

Brees passed for 419 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Jimmy Graham that closed out the scoring with 2:15 left.

But Brees put more emphasis on a statistic other than passing yardage.

“The biggest stat for us that’s disappointing is our red-zone efficiency. We were one of five,” Brees said. “That’s not going to win you a lot of games, especially on the road in this type of environment against this team.”

After a Green Bay punt, Brees marched the Saints to the Packers’ 9-yard line and spiked the ball with three seconds left. Green Bay’s A.J. Hawk was called for pass interference and the ball was placed at the 1.

Led by Clay Matthews and safety Morgan Burnett, the Packers’ defense swarmed Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram short of the goal line and the game was over.

“You’ve got to get a yard,” Ingram said. “It’s goal line to win the game, got to get a yard.”

Of the final-play drama, Matthews said, “It’s not what you envision. Obviously, you’d love to have a blowout. But I think it represents everything that we preach, which is finishing games. And it comes down to the very last play — we win, or they have an opportunity to tie it up. I think it’s fantastic to overcome that adversity, get the stop that we needed and get off the field with the victory.”

It was a big night for the Packers’ Donald Driver, who tied James Lofton’s franchise mark for career yards receiving with 9,656.

Rodgers wanted to get him the record at home.

“We tried to get him the ball again, we just didn’t have an opportunity,” Rodgers said.

Cobb’s big return gave the Packers a 35-20 lead, but the game wasn’t over. Darren Sproles answered with a long kickoff return of his own, and Brees drove the Saints for a 29-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson.

The Saints forced a punt and moved to the Packers’ 7-yard line, but failed on a fourth-down conversion attempt and gave the ball back to the Packers.

Green Bay drove again, and Rodgers handed the ball to John Kuhn on third-and-goal for a 1-yard touchdown and a 42-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.

If Thursday’s game was a referendum on the importance of player-led team workouts during the lockout, the results are in: The workouts Brees organized over the summer weren’t enough to help the Saints take down the champions, and the Packers’ decision not to get together as a team didn’t seem to hurt them.

“That stuff does not have a major impact on the game,” Rodgers said.

For the NFL, Thursday’s opener was a chance to stamp out lingering memories of a tumultuous offseason filled with tense and ugly — but ultimately successful — labor negotiations.

By Kevin McCauley

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Sep 1, 2011 – The Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers will meet in the final game of the 2011 preseason schedule at Lambeau Field on Thursday night. The starters aren’t expected to play very long for either team and that’s okay, as the main goal by this point is to avoid any serious injuries.

The Packers enter the game with QB Aaron Rodgers expected to play just one series. He’ll be without offensive weapons TE JerMichael Finley and WR Randall Cobb due to injuries. The Packers are the defending Super Bowl champions, so there’s obviously no need for them to win for the sake of feeling like winners.The goal for them in this game is to stay healthy and get some more playing time for their bench players and fringe players still fighting for a roster spot.

For the Chiefs, the goal is to focus on establishing some sort of continuity on offense. QB Matt Cassel has been average at best in the preseason, completing about half of his passes. Even though it’s just the preseason, it would be nice to see him lead the Chiefs on a scoring drive, especially against the Packers’ first team defense. The Chiefs are 0-3 in the preseason so, while winning in the preseason isn’t necessarily important, it cpuld give them some momentum heading into their first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11.

Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 1, 8:00 P.M. ET (7:00 P.M. local)

Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

TV Schedule
Packers: WFRV-5 (CBS in Green Bay)
Chiefs: KCTV-5 (CBS in Kansas City)

TV Distribution Map: The506.com

Radio Schedule
Packers: Packers Radio Network (WTAQ 1360 AM / WTAQ 97.5 FM / WIXX 101.1 FM in Green Bay)
Chiefs: Chiefs Radio Network KCFX-FM (101.1 FM in Kansas City)

For more on the Chiefs head over to Arrowhead Pride. For more on the Packers, check out Acme Packing Company. Follow the rest of preseason Week 4 at SB Nation NFL.

Read More: Aaron Rodgers (QB – GBP), Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers

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