My Take -> Week 3

Greetings, G-Force!

2-0! In dramatic fashion. Two wins over our hated rivals, the Bears and the ‘queens. Fantastic start, Matt LaFleur! In two weeks, you’ve reminded me of what it feels like to be football happy. I’ve missed this buzz.

As I write, I sip a 4 Noses Pump Action. It brings a fully loaded pumpkin cinnamon spice. When poured, the color looks like a spilled pumpkin. It’s 7.7%. With the body of a session Pale Ale, it has a thicker pumpkin pie flavor than most in the category. It’s a 2016 GABF winner. I listen to Toots and the Maytals “In the Dark” album. Glorious!

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Pour yourself a pint, Brian Gutekunst! Make it strong. You’ve earned it!

How does Matt LaFleur line up to start his first home game? He lines up with two TEs. Tonyan and Lewis on the field. Yes, he had his $10 million TE on the bench in a 2-TE set. He lines Tonyan outside and motions him tight to Bakhtiari‘s side. He calls play action. It was essentially a 2-man route. The play design was perfect. The result was a big play to Adams. Rodgers clearly approved as he emphatically pointed to LaFleur after the play.

LaFleur’s first drive? 4 plays. 75 yards. A Packers TD.

The jet sweeps. The motion. The disguise. It all feels so fun.

Aaron Rodgers showed glimpses of a return to his MVP form.

Can we please lock up Kenny Clark for years to come?

Za’Darius Smith was a total stud. Throw the stats out the window. He dominated the line of scrimmage.

Preston Smith dropping into coverage and grabbing the interception has had me feeling hoarse all week.

Aaron Jones. Slippery. Powerful. Fast. Decisive. Give him a sliver. He will do the rest.

Loved the way LaFleur mixed formations. The two back set designs were creatively crafted. Nice to see Jamaal Williams plowing his way into the end zone on a gorgeously designed play.

The Lambeau Faithful. Difference makers. If you were in attendance, I offer you a hearty THANK YOU! You helped alter the outcome. For that effort, I offer you a shared smile, a handshake and a back slap. Very well done.

Darnell Savage. So much to like. His coverage deep down the field was fantastic. I wish he’d have finished the play with a pick, but those are coming, I can feel it. I love the way he attacks the line of scrimmage. I wish he’d have tried to slow down Cook on the big TD run instead of trying to sell out and make a diving tackle in the open field.

The Raven Greene injury hurts. I wondered aloud last week if he could hold up in that role. I figured he’d last more than 6 Quarters though. I don’t like the thought of moving Amos into that role. With Amos and Savage at Safety, the secondary is on lockdown. Don’t get me wrong, I am on the Will Redmond bandwagon, but I really wish there was another option at ILB so Amos could stay put. This team needs Oren Burks to get healthy.

The Raven Greene injury makes me wonder how much Josh Jones regrets his behavior. Jones remains unsigned. In two years, his best performances were most certainly as an attacking ILB. I often reflect on his dominance against the Bengals during his rookie year. If he’d have acted professionally and behaved with maturity, he’d likely be playing significant snaps this weekend. Instead, he’s unemployed.

Bryan Bulaga has been a superstar over the first two weeks of the year.

Elgton Jenkins > Lane Taylor. At least it feels that way so far.

Well played, David Bakhtiari.

The Lambeau volume stoked my football flame.

Billy Turner is concerning me. He hasn’t been able to withstand the bull rush.

Corey Linsley has been a model of consistency throughout his career. Until now. I am confident that he will find his form, but the first two weeks haven’t been friendly to him. He looks like he needed preseason football. He showed a lack of awareness in the open field and missed assignments in Week 1. In Week 2, he had a poor snap to turn the ball over and again appeared to occasionally struggle in the passing game. I’ve come to expect near perfection from Linsley. He set the bar, not me. He’s been that good for most of his career. I’m hoping he settles in this week.

Elgton Jenkins, Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith have brought a Country Strong feel to this team.

The crowd at Lambeau was so awesome.

Fully enjoyable to see G-Mo making the TD grab!

I’m tracking MVS’ 30 yard grabs. He has one so far this year. He nearly came down with a 2nd. I want 10 on the year.

Rodgers rolling to his left, flipping his wrist and tossing a dart to Adams is pure genius.

There will be many critics over the offensive production post the 1st Quarter. I’m not one. I applaud G-Mo for pushing forward to get first down yardage. Wish he wouldn’t have fumbled, but I appreciated the effort. The flukey 4th and 1 play was unfortunate. I don’t understand why LaFleur didn’t play commander and take a time out from the sideline, but I can overlook it. And, in the 2nd half of the game, there were so many near misses. MVS had two, Adams had one and Jones had one. Big plays are unquestionably waiting in the wings for this offense.

Jaire Alexander was two dropped interceptions from an All Pro performance. He’s a man on a mission right now.

Kevin King appears to be taking the next step in his career. And, I like it a lot. Terrific hustle on his interception.

Tony Brown with the blocked kick! I love his effort.

Blake Martinez was solid. He epitomizes true leadership. I still contend that Gutekunst is going to have a really hard decision ahead of him on Martinez. The Packers can’t live without him, but in 2 games, he’s been the 4th best ILB on the field. So, what to pay him?

Dean Lowry. Hard working man earning his paycheck. Dominating the line of scrimmage.

I dig Za’Darius Smith’s smile. Love his energy.

Lancaster brings fire.

Gary is providing fire. He’s coming to the line with heightened energy. He’s hustling. Chasing down plays. If he can continue to develop, this defense could become really, really special.

Fackrell is putting himself in position. Now, he must start to finish plays. If so, he will be a difference maker for this defense.

I was happy to hear Keke might get snaps in favor of Fadol Brown this week. Keke hasn’t been active yet. Meanwhile, Brown has shockingly lacked juice off of the line of scrimmage. I’m bullish on Keke’s upside.

JK Scott! Another strong performance!

Jimmy Graham is the highest paid TE in the NFL. Matt LaFleur does not care. If you can’t block, you won’t be an every down player in his offense.

Evan Baylis getting elevated is a potentially curious move. Baylis played really well in the preseason. He was a reliable pass catcher and a willing blocker. He’s a big man. In light of Graham’s pathetic effort on Sunday against MN, I wonder if there’s more to the story. Or maybe Graham is simply injured and going to be out for the next two weeks or so. But, let’s be clear, Gutekunst and LaFleur aren’t messing around. They don’t care about past years career performances or current salary cap structures. They want to win...NOW. If Graham doesn’t play with more desire than he did on Sunday, then it’s a possibility that this move will be more than a temporary roster promotion for Baylis.

Aaron Rodgers is presenting himself in interviews as a different man. He’s taking ownership for his mistakes. He looks to be having fun again. I’d love to see this offense if Rodgers could fully regain his accuracy. His miss to MVS and to Jones prevented really big plays.

The sideline interactions between Za’Darius and Davante are priceless. Those boys are teammates!

I’ve been surprised that Gary has mostly come on bull and speed rushes around the edge. I would like to see him lined next to Za’Darius and stunting from the outside to the inside.

Kenny Clark’s inside pressure is beautiful to watch. The strip sack was a riveting game changing play.

“We got a defense.”

Jaire + King = <3.

Savage + Amos = :).

Turner + Taylor = ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Preston + Za’Darius = Smith Bros. = Brotherhood.

Another potentially sneaky good Gutekunst find was the addition of Tremon Smith. Last year before the Draft, I wrote this about him: I love his punt return skills. He also makes plays on the ball in the air. A fun athlete with a nose for the goal line after an interception. Forceful tackler. Reads routes and jumps them. Flashy style to his persona. Though he's really undersized, there's a fun confidence to him.

I know most are branding Tremon Smith as purely a Kickoff Returner, but he has punt return skills as well.

For weeks, I’ve been saying that you know Gutekunst wants 10 draft picks entering the Draft next year. After trading Trevor Davis, Gutekunst now has met his assumed goal.

I couldn’t believe it, but it seemed as though the vast majority of fans were rowdy on 3rd down. That notion died after 2011. I was thrilled to hear that the fans wanted to make a difference on GameDay, once again. There was a clear cut home field advantage. Even when momentum swung to the ‘queens. The fans continued to inspire the team. Fans can motivate players with positive volume enforcement; I believe in it! Keep the good vibes rollin’!

I’m really feeling that the Packers must Draft ILB, T, G, and TE in the early portions of this Draft. I need to do more homework at the TE position to give extensive commentary on the 2020 prospects. Here is a 2020 Mock Draft:

Round 1: Isaiah Simmons, ILB, Clemson.
Round 2: Lorenzo Neal, DL, Purdue.
Round 3: Jon Greenard, EDGE, Florida.
Round 4: JR Reed, S, Georgia.
Round 5: Liam Eichenberg, OT, ND.
Round 6: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas.
Round 6: John Houston, ILB, USC.
Round 7: Dayan Ghanwoloku, CB, BYU.
Round 7: Sean McKeon, TE, Michigan.
Round 7: Cameron Scarlett, RB, Stanford.

This week, it’s the Donkeys traveling to Titletown, U.S.A. in a game that is poised to be an emotional letdown game for the Packers. The Packers are coming off of two vital victories over Divisional opponents. And, now, they have 2 home games in 5 days. If they win both of these games, the Packers will be in great shape heading into October.

Currently, I live in CO. So, I hear a lot of Donkey chatter throughout the week. With that said, I couldn’t be happier to board a flight to go to this game. I’m flying with my two boys and it’ll be my 4 year old Son’s first NFL game. He’s really amped to attend!

While the Packers have been making crucial game saving plays at the end of games, the Donkeys have been losing 1-score games. They feel like they, too, were in position to be 2-0.

Vic Fangio has long been a competitive nemesis to Aaron Rodgers. He’s confused Rodgers. He’s irritated Rodgers. He’s been able to inflict pain on Rodgers. He forced Rodgers into bad decisions through the years.

Offensively, the Donkeys will try to establish balance on offense and they’ll try to control the ball. Joe Flacco is off to a good start at QB. He’s played fairly well over the first two weeks. He’s stood confidently in the pocket and he’s mostly thrown an accurate ball. Phillip Lindsay is a speed back that hits the hole and quickly gobbles up yards. Royce Freeman has been receiving the carries between the tackles. Noah Fant was a favorite of mine heading into the Draft. He is a pass catching mismatch with elite size + speed combination. They have three extremely talented WRs in Courtland Sullivan, DaeSean Hamilton and Emmanuel Sanders. Prior to the season, the Donkeys made JaWuan Jones the second highest paid RT in the history of the NFL. He’s injured and might not play. Former 1st round pick, Garret Bolles, has really struggled at LT. Dalton Risner, another favorite of mine heading into the Draft, starts at LG. He’s been a monster so far this year. Connor McGovern is a physical Center and Ronald Leary is equally as physical at Guard. If Jones doesn’t play, the Packers should be able to dominate the edges of the line and cause havoc for Flacco.

Defensively, thus far, the Donkeys have underperformed. They are loaded with talent and I love Fangio’s system. They will significantly improve. Let’s hope it waits a week. Miller and Chubb are a lethal combo at OLB. Derek Wolfe is a dominant interior defender on the line. Todd Davis is healthy and expected to start at ILB. Josey Jewell is a quality run stopping ILB. They have a gifted secondary. Chris Harris is a shut down CB. Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons are physical, fast, do-it-all Safeties. Bryce Callahan is expected to make his season debut and, if so, he’s developed into a dependable CB, especially in the slot. Isaac Yiadom has the desired speed, but he’s really struggled so far. Expect Rodgers to target Yiadom early and often.

I’m really interested to see the Packers defend an immobile QB. Flacco is a statue. I want to see a Gary, Clark, and Smith Bros. pass rush. They should be able to collapse the pocket and force a couple of turnovers.

It doesn’t matter who Yiadom is covering, I want to target him. I’d love to see MVS streaking down the sideline with Yiadom in coverage. Yiadom might develop into a really good CB, but thus far, he’s not ready.

Don’t be surprised if Baylis sees significant snaps and makes a difference in the run game. He’s football smart.

Kenny Clark slows the Donkeys run game.

Jaire marks up Sanders. King slows down Sullivan.

Za’Darius grabs a sack.

Savage gets his first interception.

Not that I’m pining for a conservative approach, but with two games in 5 days, I feel it’d be wise to keep Dexter Williams active this week. And, if the Packers can get a 2-score lead, I’d give Dexter a drive to help preserve Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones.

If the weather holds, the Packers should win convincingly.

Packers 23.
Donkeys 9.

Go Pack Go!

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