My Take -> Week 1

Greetings, G-Force.

I head to Titletown, U.S.A. this weekend. For the home opener. To take my wife, Star, and Son, Dylan, to the game. To watch my Dad perform at Lambeau. This Sunday marks the start of his 28th Regular Season in which he's been involved with GameDay Production at the World’s Greatest Sports Theater. I’m damn proud to be Mac’s son. Love that man. Grateful to call him Dad.

I’m still in recovery mode after 3 nights of Phish in CO. I can’t get enough. I’m listening to the 9/3/17 show as I type. 9/3 is a special day in my Family. It’s Simon’s birthday. He's my youngest Son. If you’re a fan of jam band music, be sure to get your ears on this show. It was an inspiring musical showing. Powerful from an instrumental and a lyrical perspective. Vibe in!

Even though the 2017 NFL Season has yet to Kickoff, I already love this version of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are built with a more physical nature than we’re accustomed to. Outside of Spriggs and Fackrell, we don’t aren’t comprised of soft players. We have sheer force on this roster.

I don't envision this team finishing 13-3 and having home field throughout. But, as is often the case with Mike McCarthy teams, I do think the Packers will be playing their best football in December. This team will take a little while to gel. There are a lot of new faces. Especially on the defensive side of the ball. And, the beginning of the year is loaded with difficult tests. The Packers could play really good football and start the season 3-3. So, I'm picking 11-5. Another NFC North Championship. And, with that, let's get to the playoffs, while playing our best football and see what happens.

Here are a couple of quick vibes from the last week:

· Ted Thompson. He wants another ring. He’s built a group that – if healthy – is capable of winning a title.

· Ahmad Brooks is a Packer. He’s going to bring intensity to the OLB group. He’ll be muscle flexing with jubilation.

· Quinton Dial’s signing is massive. Dude can play the run. Tells me that the Packers are looking for Mike Daniels’ largest role to be as a pass rusher on 3rd down. I salivate at the thought of seeing Daniels and Adams rushing the passer on third downs. That’d be two quick dudes who understand leverage and know how to collapse a pocket.

· Can’t say that I’m bummed that Taysom Hill didn’t make the roster, but a year of development might’ve eased the Packers thoughts about traded Hundley after the year. Would be nice to enter next year with a QB who has seen the system prior to getting rid of Hundley. Don’t be surprised if Hill isn’t back on the roster at some point during the year – maybe even the Practice Squad.

· Really surprised that Yancey is on the practice squad and Malachi Dupre is not. Thought Dupre looked like a top notch athlete who had a shot in this league. Shockingly, it doesn’t appear as though Dupre was even added to anyone’s practice squad.

· LaDarius Gunter earned his roster spot. Put him in action and the dude simply makes plays. Exciting to see him on the blitz. He’s around the football. He has to learn to finish plays.

· The Packers appear to be extremely healthy heading into the regular season. Bulaga’s status was encouraging. The Packers need the OL intact in order to be a threat to win the Bowl.

· Looking forward to seeing Lowry, Clark, Dial and Jean Francois punishing OL on early downs. This DL should be extremely physical.

· If Jayrone Elliott meets the conditions of the trade, the Packers will have 13 selections in the 2018 NFL draft. I’ll be following his progress all year.

This week – it gets real. The fun begins. The Seagulls come to Lambeau Field. Seattle has become a serious rival for the Packers. And, it seems that the team who hosts is generally the team that wins. There’s no reason that the Packers don’t continue that trend in Week 1.

A 3:25 start. I anticipate an intoxicated, fully amped Lambeau Field.

As a general thought, when these two teams have battled, the team that was most physical was the team that won. The Packers should dominate the line of scrimmage this weekend. The Seahawks have one of the worst OL in all of football. I’ll be shocked if Rees Odhiambo can adequately fulfill the LT role. I’d think Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and Ahmad Brooks will plow right through him. Luke Joeckel was a bust for Jacksonville. He’s trying to salvage his career in Seattle by moving to Guard. I like Justin Britt as an anchor at Tackle. Mark Glowinski is average – at best – at Guard. I’d like to think that the Packers DL will beat him up as they rotate throughout. The Packers DL will be fresh and they should overpower Glowinski. Germain Ifedi is a solid RT, but I’m hoping that Matthews and Perry can run around him.

Doug Baldwin is a cagey WR. He plays faster than he times. He is more physical than he looks. He’s tough to bring down in the open field. He’s a fighter. He’s a winner. Paul Richardson brings speed to the outside. He can get over the top of the defense. He'll also fight for the ball in coverage. He'll test the Packers deep down the field. Tyler Lockett isn't only a lethal returner, but he's also a dangerous slot receiver. He works hard on busted plays. The longer Wilson holds on the ball and tries to improvise, the better the chance that Lockett gets open. Tanner McEvoy has made the transition to WR. He's a great athlete and has the height to present a mismatch on the perimeter. Although he has not lived up expectations in Seattle yet, Jimmy Graham is a stud. He is a mismatch every time he steps out on the field.

At RB, Seattle is loaded. They'll be bringing a motivated EDDIE Lacy to town. I'll always have space in my heart for EDDIE and I'll miss him in Green Bay. You know he'll want to run all over us. Thomas Rawls and CJ Prosise present big problems for the Packers offense. Prosise has tremendous receiving skills. And, he's extremely dangerous in space. Rawls punishes when he connects with defenders. He seems to always fall forward for extra yardage. With Rawls, Prosise, and Lacy; I anticipate that Seattle will try to run the football early in the game. They'll try to set up the play action pass to get Wilson rolling out of the pocket and looking downfield to test the Packers secondary.

If I’m Dom Capers. I’m playing Seattle straight up. Collapsing the pocket with our rebuilt DL and putting a spy on Wilson. I’m banking on the Packers DL winning the battle against the Seattle OL. Our 4 DL can beat their 5 OL straight up. I'm confident in that. I’d consider playing Burnett and Jones at ILB. Having Burnett covering Graham as his core responsibility. Jones spies on Wilson. We can’t let Wilson get loose. But, we have to be aggressive in our attack of him and Jones is our best option for mirror Wilson’s elusiveness in the open field. Jones is also faster than Wilson. It’s a tall task for the rookie, but this is the type of role that we drafted him for.

Defensively, the Seahawks have some big bodied athletes up front. Michael Bennett leads the charge. Sheldon Richardson was recently acquired and he's among the best DT in all of football. Jarran Reed is a run stuffing DL. Cliff Avril and Frank Clark are pass rushing specialists. The Seahawks still have Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas. But, their depth isn't what it once was. This defense can be beaten.

If the Packers try to outmuscle Seattle in the run game, we're in for a long day. But, if we give the game to Rodgers and spread out Seattle, we're going to have a lot of success. They can't cover us. Jeremy Lane is trash talking junk at CB. I'd attack him all game. He can't back-up his talk. He'll be grabbing all game. If the refs are up for it, Lane will get multiple PI calls on him. For big gains. Shaquill Griffin has the tools to become a solid CB, but he's a rookie and I expect Rodgers to target him both early and often.

During the offseason, the Packers signed two new toys on offense to play TE. I envision an offense that plays multiple TE sets. Both TE's are fierce pass blockers and talented receivers. I'm really excited these two TE sets. Early in the game, I wouldn't show it. I'd come with 3-WR, Bennett at TE and Montgomery as the lone RB. Rodgers at QB. In attack mode. Aggressively attacking the Seattle defense. Looking at Griffin and Lane. Then, looking to find Bennett streaking down the middle of the field.

The Packers start win the toss. They kick to Seattle. The rowdy Lambeau faithful elevates. Seattle is forced to punt. Rodgers goes to work. It's a thing of beauty. He looks to Montgomery on the swing pass. Montgomery seeks contact and bulls over Seattle defenders for extra yards. The drive results in a TD as Rodgers finds Bennett for the TD.

Seattle's offense annoys as Wilson wills his way to first downs. He hits Baldwin for first down yardage against Randall. He hits Graham over the middle. He eludes pressure and creates plays.

But, this is Aaron Rodgers' day. Rodgers is in command. He's in rhythm. He hits Nelson on a deep ball for a TD.

RIP punches the Seattle defense in the mouth.

In all, Montgomery gets 20 touches. Rodgers hits 7 different receivers and tosses 3 TD's. The defense grabs three sacks and forces two turnovers. It's a season opening celebration!

Packers 30.
Seattle 20.

Go Pack Go!

Talkin' S-Mac.
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