My Take -> Week 2

Greetings, G-Force.

For now and forever, the Packers can claim Trump Card at Soldier Field. After all, the Halas Trophy resides in the Visitors Locker Room. When you hold Trump Card in your pocket, you walk into the opposing stadium and feel comfortable playing their style of football. You beat them at their own game. Yes, the Bears Still Suck!

As I write, I sip a 4 Noses Apricot Velvet. It’s a Milkshake IPA. It’s fruity. It’s creamy. It has a vanilla bean bite to minimize the apricot/peach strength. It’s perfectly concocted. I listen to the Beastie Boys “Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science” album. I’m reminded: Dip dip dive — so socialize. Open up your ears and clean out your eyes. If you learn to love you're in for a surprise. It could be nice to be alive!

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Packers fans entered 2019 in a world of uncertainty. Bears fans entered 2019 feeling like they were destined for greatness. 25 minutes into the season, the Packers defense had the previously rowdy Bear fan booing loudly throughout Soldier Field. THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Classy move by Rodgers to keep the game ball. To give it to LaFleur. To hand it to him and promise that he’d be better in the future. I already love their relationship.

Mike Pettine. Drawn up to perfection.

The win over the Bears was a grand moment for Gutekunst. His FA signings on defense were stellar. His pair of 1st round picks were impactful. He has to be proud!

Happy homecoming, Adrian Amos! You deserve ALL of the money.

Tip the cap, Gutekunst! I’d forgotten what it felt like to have a pair of stallion pass rushers. It’s good to be reminded. Our EDGE rushers are alive!

It’s only one game, but Savage sure looked like Nintendo Nick reincarnated.

THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

JK Scott was absolutely dynamite. He was a superstar. JK! JK! JK!

Bryan Bulaga was a fuckin’ man!

Kenny Clark was a monster in the middle. When he teamed with Amos to stuff Patterson on 3rd and 1, I literally jumped out of my seat with excitement.

In the words of Aaron Rodgers, “we got a defense.”

As a reminder, the two greatest moments in the long history of Soldier Field are the 2010 NFC Championship Game and the Grateful Dead’s 50th Anniversary Fare Thee Well 3-day Run.

The speed on the defensive side of the ball was off of the charts. Really, at all levels of the defense. Blake Martinez even looked faster closing on the ball.

Raven Greene played really well. He’s physical. A reliable tackler. He was confident coming on the blitz. I’m not sure that he can hold up all year in that role, but he certainly did in Chicago. Sneaky good Gutekunst find.

Blake Martinez was a full-out baller!

Rashan Gary. 6 snaps. 2 pressures. I’ll take it.

Another Sleeper Gutekunst find: Will Redmond. He was a weapon as a gunner.

The spirit within the leadership of the defense is absolutely infectious. Za’Darius waits for Preston to deliver a post game interview to show that they are men locked in arms. Jaire is robust with a contagious personality. Kevin King is high spirited and instantaneous in his desire to celebrate a teammates success. Blake Martinez, Kenny Clark and Adrian Amos play in do-as-I-do leadership style, which is much the contrary to the Mike Daniels approach of years past.

How good is Davante Adams? At one point, he was triple teamed!

I expect G-MO to be highly productive in 2019. He wasn’t targeted in Week 1. That won’t continue.

MVS getting over the top! I hope to see 10 catches of 30+ yards this year!

LaFleur used a lot of double TE. The Packers ran 64 plays. Graham was on the field for 35 of them. Lewis played 34. Tonyan played 20.

The last time the Packers beat the Bears 10-3? The 2010 season. The Packers won the Super Bowl that year.

THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Good to see Jimmy Graham winning a jump ball in the end zone. It was also nice to see him drawing the Pass Interference penalty.

Good to see Tonyan making a catch and grabbing yards with the ball in his hands.

Really liked how Marcedes Lewis was utilized. Rodgers trusts him. Wish Lewis would’ve caught the ball down the sidelines late.

Adrian Amos creating a storybook ending to start the NFL’s 100th season is one I’ll always remember.

I’ve been an avid Lane Taylor supporter this Training Camp, but if he has another game like he did in Chicago, he will be benched for Jenkins. He played pathetic football. He was bulled over. He lacked vision + awareness. He was mostly a liability.

Let’s hope that Billy Turner is much better than he showed in Week 1.

Za’Darius Smith was unbelievable. He was consistently in the face of the Bears young QB. He came from all over the field. He had 3 tackles. He had a sack. He had 1 tackle for loss. He was a force all night long.

Preston Smith was dynamite. 1.5 sacks. 5 total tackles. He had 1 tackle for loss. He was energized. He was enthusiastic. He was a force in the run game.

It was fitting that on the final defensive snap of the game, Pettine called a stunt that had the Smith Bros. lined up on the right side. Za’Darius cleared the way. Preston burst thru the hole and finished off the Bears young QB to seal the victory. Teammates. Selfless play by Za’Darius.

This was not some odd twist of fate performance by the defense. They dominated the line of scrimmage. Martinez and Greene played really well in the middle of the field. And, they nearly had 4 interceptions in the 1st half. Preston Smith tipped a pass that hit Martinez in the hand, Jaire batted a ball in the air that TMon was hustling to get under, King dropped a pick, and Savage was in position to steal a 3rd down pass when he jumped the route over the middle of the field.

As a team, the Packers had 5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss. Stunningly impressive performance!

I was surprised that the Packers didn’t run the ball on 2nd and 4 from the Bears 46 with just over 1 minute left in the 2nd Quarter. I felt like they should’ve managed the game to guarantee that they had the lead at the half. Additionally, the Packers had two timeouts, so the clock wasn’t an issue.

The 100th Anniversary of the NFL Season kicked off with the NFL’s oldest rivalry squaring off. Big boy grumpy city vs small town farm boys. National TV. Just as a movie script would tell the story, the good guys won. GPG! Fuck. Yes.

As a fan, this is not the time to be fearful of the Packers offense. There will be games this year in which the Packers win in a shoot out. There will be games where Adams tops 100 yards receiving. There will be games in which Jones tops 100 yards rushing. I’m not concerned about the offense.

I am football stoked right now! The last time I was littered with such glee? Week 2 of last year as the Packers were hosting the 'queens post a dramatic victory over the hated Bears. Oh, the irony.

JK Scott was phenomenal. You know who helped him be so good? Will Redmond. Amazing gunner! Yes, that deserved a 2nd mention. Trevor Davis also showed well in the role.

The Packers offense was far from productive. But, I’m holding onto huge hope. LaFleur’s design on the 47 yard completion to MVS was exceptional. It had disguise. It had misdirection. Rodgers executed the play to perfection. I anticipate that we will see similar styles of play design in abundance in upcoming weeks. Conceptually, this offense will offer significantly more confusion as comfort levels enhance.

With full-belly, wide-smiling joy, please sing it with me! THE BEARS STILL SUCK! THE BEARS STILL SUCK! THEY REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SUCK! OH, THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Quick side note: Want to hear something mind blowing? Former Packers QB, Graham Harrell, is a rising star in the coaching sphere. He’s currently the offensive coordinator for USC. Do yourself a favor and watch them play this year.

For this weeks 2020 Packers Mock Draft, I, once again, try to mix up the player names as much as possible. I have not spent enough time on TE, WR and T to make assessments beyond a couple of top tier players. Here goes:

Round 1: Isaiah Simmons, ILB, Clemson.
Round 2: Ben Bredeson, G, Michigan.
Round 3: Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah.
Round 4: Marlon Davidson, EDGE, Auburn.
Round 5: Brandon Jones, CB/S, Texas.
Round 6: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU.
Round 7: Lamical Perine, RB, FL.
Round 7: Leki Fotu, DL, Utah.
Round 7: Sage Lewis, ILB, FIU.

This week - it's the ‘queens coming to Lambeau for the home opener. If Matt LaFleur’s inaugural season is going to be a successful one, the 12-day stretch that begins on Sunday will be a propelling factor. The Packers will play three home games in that time frame. If the Packers can win at home, they’ll be sitting pretty a quarter of the way through the season.

The tide has changed over the last 4 games between these rivals. The ‘queens have been in control. They’ve mostly dominated the line of scrimmage. They’ve been aggressive with contact at CB. And, offensively, at times, it’s felt like they could move the ball at will.

The ‘queens have a number of playmakers. Diggs and Thielen make up a dynamic duo at WR. Chad Beebe is a sure handed slot WR. Dalvin Cook, if healthy, is poised to have a big year. Alexander Mattison has looked the part and feels like he might be a talented compliment to Cook. Kyle Rudolph is still a top shelf blocker and a reliable target. Irv Smith is a potential weapon as a backup TE. Kirk Cousins was paid to win games like these. Historically, he has played fairly well against the Packers. The ‘queens seem to feel better about their OL this year, too. Riley Reiff is a high priced FA acquisition. Brian O’Neill is a former 2nd round pick. Reiff and O’Neill will try to contain the Smith Bros. Garrett Bradbury was their 1st round pick and will start at Center. Pat Elflein is a former 3rd round pick. He will line up with Josh Kline at Guard. I like the way the Packers front 4 matches up against the ‘queens OL.

Defensively, the ‘queens have most of the same faces that we’ve seen for many years in a row. Hunter and Griffen love to pin their ears back and attack the QB. Joseph is a monster run stopper. Shamar Stephen is a solid role player on the interior of the line. Stephen Weatherly is a good rotational DL who fits the system. At LB, Kendricks and Barr do what they do. The ‘queens have to feel good about Smith, Waynes and Rhodes in the secondary. Anthony Harris and Jayron Kearse are question marks. The ‘queens might be without Mike Hughes and Mackenzie Alexander, who are their nickel and dime CBs. It’s possible that they’ll be decimated in the defensive backfield. If so, it’ll be up to the Packers OL to protect Rodgers. With time, Rodgers might have an opportunity to make a number of plays deep down the field.

Without question, both teams are going to try to establish the run early in the game. They’ll work to slow down the oppositions pass rush by getting them on their heels via a successful run game. Then, the run game will open up play action and the screen game.

I expect the Lambeau crowd to be exceptionally rowdy. The fans have to know how much this game means to the Packers franchise. Rise up, Lambeau!

Look for Rodgers to find G-Mo across the middle.

Book it: Trae Waynes will have at least one pass interference called against him.

I want to see MVS streaking down the sidelines!

If the ‘queens try to match Rhodes one on one vs Adams, Adams will have opportunities for big plays.

With the potential injuries to the ‘queens secondary, I’d imagine that LaFleur plays a lot less two TE sets than he did in Chicago. Look for LaFleur to try and spread the defense out. LaFleur trusts his OL to win their battles and to force Zimmer’s hand to start blitzing.

LaFleur lives on screens and crossing routes.

Jaire must play at an All Pro level and eliminate Diggs.

The Smith Bros. have to collapse the edges.

Look for Gary to alter a play on a stunt from the left EDGE coming to the inside.

Look for Amos to be inching up in the box in an attempt to slow down the ‘queens run game.

Cousins gives the Packers a chance to make a play in the secondary. Savage delivers.

Crosby confidently connects.

Packers 23.
‘queens 20.

Go Pack Go!

Talkin’ S-Mac.
Talkins-Mac.blogspot.com