It's a common play in the goal-line offense, and Korey Hall almost never gets the ball. But it came his way Monday night.
Trailing 3-0 early in the second quarter with the Packers facing third-and-goal from the Minnesota 1-yard line, quarterback Aaron Rodgers ran a play-action fake and looked to his left, where his first two receivers were covered. So as he side-stepped the Vikings' rush, Rodgers fired a low bullet to his only remaining choice, which was Hall cutting through the middle of the end zone.
Well-covered by Minnesota linebacker Ben Leber, Hall made an impressive diving catch for the touchdown, his first NFL score that gave the Packers a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night.
"It's one of those plays we run all the time in practice, and they always hit the corner route or the flat route," said Hall, a second-year fullback. "He was scrambling out to his left, and I was the third read on that. He ended up having to throw it low and outside, and I was able to come up with it."
As the saying goes, Rodgers threw the ball in a spot where only his receiver could catch it. And he did so with a tight spiral despite the awkward footwork.
"They covered Donald Lee and John Kuhn in the flat and somebody grabbed my leg so I was trying to kick out of it," Rodgers said. "I was kind of off-balance when I threw it but Korey made a really nice catch for me."
Hall was all smiles talking about the play after the game, and rightly so. He played in 14 regular-season games a year ago as a rookie and touched the ball just eight times (zero rushes, eight receptions).
"I was really excited about the touchdown but even more excited about the win," Hall said. "It's a great start to our season."
Not quite full speed
Running back Ryan Grant believes if he'd been able to turn it loose, he wouldn't have been caught on his 57-yard run that ended at the Minnesota 2-yard line. But Grant, who did not play in any preseason games because of contract negotiations and a subsequent hamstring injury, was being limited not only in his number of carries but how hard he pushed it when getting the ball.
"I didn't cut it loose," he said. "Running downfield, I haven't really opened it up yet. It's sore right now but I didn't do any damage to it. I made it through and we got the win."
Grant finished with 92 yards on 12 carries, finally getting his night going with a 19-yard run midway through the second quarter. Prior to that, he was stopped three times from the 1, 1, and 3-yard lines, which ultimately doomed his streak of six consecutive games with a rushing TD. Had he reached seven, he would have tied Paul Hornung's franchise-best string (1960).
As it was, his yardage total put him over 1,000 for his career. With 956 yards in the regular season a year ago, Grant now has 1,048 career yards.
{sportsad300}Moving on up
Aaron Kampman's first-quarter sack of Tarvaris Jackson was the 42nd of his career and moved him into fourth place on the Packers' all-time list, just ahead of Ezra Johnson (41 1/2). It was also his ninth career sack against the Vikings, his most against any club.
Receiver Donald Driver climbed closer to the No. 2 spot in career receiving yards at Lambeau Field. With four catches for 38 yards Monday night, Driver now has 3,315 receiving yards at Lambeau, 16 away from passing James Lofton (3,330). Antonio Freeman tops that list at 3,477. Driver did extend his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 96, seven shy of Sterling Sharpe's franchise record of 103 (1988-94).
Injury update
The Packers' only reported injuries during the game were minor. Safety Nick Collins got the wind knocked out of him defending a pass play in the third quarter, but returned to the game. Defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins suffered a leg cramp but was fine after the game.
Linebacker A.J. Hawk played for the first time since the first preseason game with a harness to help protect his chest muscle sprain. Hawk, who led the team with 10 tackles (seven solo) said he felt good after the game and didn't have any problems.
