Here's the tale of the tape from the Packers' 31-24 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday:

Sad sacks

For all the attention paid to RE Antwan Odom's five-sack afternoon, the QB takedown that sums up the Packers' offensive issues was SLB Rey Maualuga's against FB Korey Hall.

Maualuga and S Roy Williams crept to the line before the snap, tipping a six-man pressure. The Packers kept eight -- yes, eight -- in to block.

Eight-man protection should make a quarterback feel comfortable he can set his feet, go through his reads and try to hit a big play, which is what QB Aaron Rodgers was looking for with WRs Greg Jennings and Donald Driver working downfield.

But Hall barely got a fingertip on Maualuga as the rookie stuttered and then exploded around the offensive left edge. There also was heat up the middle from DT Jonathan Fanene, who got late pressure against LG Daryn Colledge and was at Rodgers' feet as Maualuga drilled him in the back.

Breakdowns like that will make any quarterback skittish. It should be no surprise Rodgers sidestepped into a sack on the Packers' next possession rather than trusting LT Chad Clifton and C Jason Spitz to keep Odom's long stunt outside.

On 45 true dropbacks Sunday, the Packers utilized six-man protection 21 times (46.7 percent) and seven-man protection nine times (20 percent), not including plays on which tight ends and running backs chipped before going out in pattern. Only nine times was the offensive line left to fend for itself -- yet Rodgers was sacked six times and hit four others by a Bengals defense that sent 17 blitzes (37.8 percent).

These are compounding issues that can't be solved simply by keeping in extra blockers on every play. If anything, excessive help can become a crutch, allowing players to get away with lousy fundamentals that need to be fixed before this offense can get back on track.

Running men

An improved running game wouldn't hurt either -- just look at what it did for Cincinnati.

Dom Capers' run defense is predicated on spilling rushes outside, yet RB Cedric Benson went vertical for two of his three 12-yard gains on the opening possession behind overloaded formations and fullback motion.

First, LT Andrew Whitworth lined up to the right of RT Anthony Collins, and the Packers didn't adjust when FB Jeremi Johnson motioned left, giving Johnson a clean shot at MILB Nick Barnett to clear a gaping cutback lane.

On the next play, backup T Dennis Roland came on as an extra blocker and combined with Whitworth to drive back RE Cullen Jenkins, with Benson close behind. Two plays after that, Johnson motioned to the right edge and kept LOLB Aaron Kampman in check as Benson turned the corner.

Toss out those three plays, and Benson's numbers (26 carries for 105 yards, 4.0 average) don't look quite as awful for the Packers. Poor tackling -- the Packers missed nine on running plays, including three on Benson's late third-down scamper for 14 -- was more to blame than any schematic hiccups.

But that opening drive established what the Bengals could do on the ground, opening up their passing game and stifling Capers' zone-blitz attack. In 21 dropbacks, Capers sent more than four rushers only three times (14.3 percent).

Playmakers

* The Packers struggled to get a pass rush, hitting QB Carson Palmer only four times, but Jenkins and ROLB Clay Matthews earned their sacks. Both came against Whitworth, who let Jenkins swim past him off the ball and barely grazed Matthews on a deft spin move. The pair also combined on an early pressure of Palmer, with Jenkins registering another hit, and Matthews drew a hold on Whitworth on a running play.

* NT Ryan Pickett had a solid game and could have had a great one if he'd wrapped up Benson the two times he got a piece in the backfield.

Play breakers

* S Aaron Rouse was productive (nine tackles) in place of SS Atari Bigby, particularly in run support, but as usual, Rouse had some glaring errors as well. He took a poor leverage angle on the third-and-34 screen the Bengals converted, then was supposed to be playing deep zone on the next play, when Palmer hit WR Chad Ochocinco for 44 on a flea-flicker. In Rouse's defense, ILB Brandon Chillar also took a bad angle on the screen and CBs Charles Woodson and Al Harris overbought on the flea-flicker -- not surprising, given the Packers' struggles stopping the run. But Rouse also erred on WR Chris Henry's 5-yard TD catch, showing a lack of vision as he looked for a quick pass and Henry ran free on an in behind him. Rouse has improved fundamentally and can make a lot of plays in Capers' aggressive scheme. He just needs to recognize when being aggressive will get him in trouble.

* P Jeremy Kapinos' punts were too straight and low, but the coverage unit could have stopped PR Quan Cosby from breaking two big returns. Instead, Jeremy Thompson left his lane on one, giving Cosby a chasm to the near sideline for 60, and Chillar took a poor angle on the other, letting himself get pancaked as Cosby circled back to the far sideline for 32. The Bengals turned those returns into 10 points.

* RB Ryan Grant's reads were OK, but he didn't have much room to work with. He had one obvious error on an early zone right run, when he cut back inside too quickly instead of following RT Allen Barbre and TE Donald Lee to the edge.

* There wasn't much Grant could have done on the back-to-back runs for no gain that forced a second-quarter punt. On second-and-2 from the Packers 18, Clifton and Colledge failed to stretch the frontside and DT Domata Peko got into the backfield against RG Josh Sitton. Third down was a mess, with DT Pat Sims powering back Sitton, which threw FB John Kuhn off course, and Peko getting down the line off of Colledge.

* Three of Odom's sacks came against Colledge, who got beat inside each time off of the initial punch. Rodgers was chiefly responsible for another for not throwing the ball away, and Grant gets the bulk of the blame for the other because he whiffed after Lee got an initial chip.

* TE Jermichael Finley's worst plays were his first and his last. He had the first of four drops by the Packers -- WR Greg Jennings, WR James Jones and Grant had the others -- and made a rookie mistake by not getting lined up properly after WR Donald Driver's catch on the game's final play. Instead, Finley tried to pull the ball away from LB Dhani Jones, who had grabbed a non-fumble after Driver went down; handed the ball to an official; and then lined up so far inside that he was stepping on Colledge's left foot, causing Finley to awkwardly adjust as the ball was snapped -- a blatant false start. Finley wasn't the only one who moved, but considering he had 10 full seconds to move a few yards, there's no excuse for not getting set. Those miscues overshadowed a day on which he had four catches for 56 yards, including a key 22-yard grab on the final drive.

Dot ... dot ... dot ...

After playing predominantly nickel in the opener against Chicago, the Packers played 34 snaps (54 percent) of base defense and another six in a 4-4 look. That meant 40 snaps for Pickett and ROLB Brady Poppinga. ... The Packers only played 20 snaps (31.7 percent) of nickel and another three in a dime defense with CB Will Blackmon as the sixth defensive back. ... No wonder Barnett is getting frustrated about playing time. He only played 40 snaps -- fewer than fellow inside backer A.J. Hawk (46) -- and none in the fourth quarter.