My Take -> Week 12

Greetings, G-Force.

A week after the Packers failed to show up for an afternoon battle with the Chargers, the team from Titletown, U.S.A. responded with an emotionally draining, hard fought victory in a Wintery Wonderland at Lambeau Field. Is there a more beautiful sight in sports than the snow falling under the lights at Lambeau? If so, I have yet to witness it. For those that were fortunate enough to attend, I proudly declare that I’m absolutely jealous of you.

As I write, I sip a Casey Brewing Blackberry Fruit Stand. It's a n ale aged in Oak Barrels with Blackberries. It's a lighter beer at only 5.5%. Tart finish. Oak fruit forward. If you're not familiar with Casey Brewing, it's among my favorites. With a trip to WV on the horizon, John Denver's Country Roads plays in the background.

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Following the bye, the Packers are well rested and healthy. With a path to home field advantage squarely in front of them. In order to secure the #1 seed, they must win this weekend.

LaFleur’s team was the beneficiary of two costly mistakes by Allen against the Panthers. His team capitalized on those mistakes. The Packers came out ready to play early and delivered the goal line stop on the final play.

I was really surprised when Pettine only rushed three on 4th down on the final Panthers drive. I thought he’d try and get in the young QBs face.

We’ve certainly seen Aaron Rodgers play better than he did against Carolina. Still, the Packers scored 24 points. Rodgers missed two wide open WRs in the end zone on the final drive of the 2nd Qtr.

Mason Crosby. What a tremendous kick.

Aaron Jones has officially developed into a top tier RB. He’s still underutilized. I wish he’d have been on the field when the Packers got the ball inside the 10 at the end of the 2nd Qtr. Jones has an uncanny ability to find the goal. He has an extra gear in short spaces and is more powerful than his frame appears to hold.

It was great to see Davante Adams return to form. He was unstoppable. Imagine this, Adams has 0 TDs and the Packers are 8-2.

The Packers OL has been remarkably better in run blocking than in years past. Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner have revitalized the interior run game.

Another strong performance by Jamaal Williams.

It’s a great treat to watch the Lazard and Rodgers relationship grow.

Rodgers’ on-field mastery completely fooled Kuechly on the deep ball to Graham in the 2nd Qtr.

I really hope that MVS can find his stride again. His presence has disappeared in this offense.

I loved watching Jace block. High effort in the run game. Held the point well in run game. Want to see him as a receiver.

In grand fashion, the Packers averaged 6 yards per carry on the ground.

Once again, the Packers defense bent often, but they didn’t break. They gave up more than 400 yards, but only 16 points. As long as the turnovers continue, the defense should be fine, but when they don’t get sacks or turnovers, they struggle to get off of the field.

Za’Darius was a disruptive force. Ignore the stats, he was dominant. He was consistently pressuring Allen off of his spot.

Preston was dynamite again. Wish they’d never drop him in coverage. This team needs him in attack mode, not on his heels in space.

Fun to see Kenny Clark playing great football. He was moving lineman and getting a push.

Thought Lancaster showed well in the run game.

I’ve been waiting for Fackrell to make a big play. I thought it’d come in the form of a strip sack. I’ll take the goal line stop to seal the game. Right when I was having visions of Steve Beuerlein sneaking it in to beat the Packers in 1999.

Montravious Adams was also active on the line of scrimmage.

Need Blake Martinez to attack the line of scrimmage rather than waiting for the back to make the first move. Blake is playing too flat footed.

T-Mon with the pick! Point saver!

Amos was in the right position, just didn’t finish.

Keep waiting for Savage to be a savage and make a splash play.

Kevin King continues to get picked on in man coverage on down and out routes and comebacks. The Packers should look to give him safety help over the top, so King can jam at the line of scrimmage.

It’s time for a Pettine to let Savage cover the TE out of the slot. When the TE is lined up tight to the line, Campbell or Amos should handle the duties. Enough with the zone. Have to go man.

I continue to want to see more of Keke on the field.

Thought Campbell settles in nicely. He’s dependable. Clearly, Pettine trusts him. Loved the strip of McCaffrey.

I want Jaire to become the guy that closes out games. Wish he'd have caught the ball and danced for 6.

The Packers and their play clock issues. I’ll never understand it. It seems inexcusable. So, are the abundance of pre-snap false starts. The devil is in the details and offensively, the pre-snap details have been sloppy.

The defense continues to have communication issues. Watching Kevin King in zone while the rest of the defense is in man is beyond frustrating. Gotta clean it up.

The Packers had 10 penalties against Carolina. Yikes!

Footing continues to be an issue for the Packers on the Lambeau surface. Wish they could figure out the cleat situation.

8-2. With their best football seemingly ahead of them. The sky is the limit for this team. Just have to put it all together. And, they have to stay healthy.

Here’s this weeks 2020 Packers Mock Draft and for it, I used my good friend, Craig Forrestal’s, updated draft board that can be found on Fanspeak:

Round 1: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson.
Round 2: D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia.
Round 3: Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Missouri.
Round 4: Walker Little, OT, Stanford.
Round 5: Richard LeCounte, S, Georgia.
Round 6: Lorenzo Neal, DL, Purdue.
Round 6: Jeff Thomas, WR, []_[].
Round 7: Logan Wilson, ILB, Wyoming.
Round 7: Lavert Hill, CB, Michigan.
Round 7: Jon Runyan, G, Michigan.

This week, it’s the 49ers. In SF. The winner will hold possession of the #1 seed in the NFC. It’s a monumental Week 12 battle.

Kyle Shanahan is the best play caller in the NFL. He is a mastermind. He has redefined misdirection. He lives off of the screen pass. Screen pass, play action and crossing routes. He loves the wheel route to the RB. He has perfected the ability to get the ball into a playmakers hands in space. Shanahan loves motion. Pre-snap, he creates confusion in the masses. Shanahan finds mismatches.

During the offseason, I really wanted the Packers to take a look at Tevin Coleman. I thought he was the ideal back for the LaFleur offense. Instead, he landed back in the hands of Shanahan. And, Shanahan is using him in brilliant fashion. Coleman is a dynamic weapon on the inside run and in the screen game. He's a threat to make an explosive play every time he touches the ball. Jimmy Garoppolo is a smart QB who sees the field well.
He's clutch down the stretch. Raheem Mostert is a quality between-the-tackles runner. Deebo Samuel is dangerous after the catch. Emmanuel Sanders is a star. Dante Pettis is a talented receiver in traffic. Marquise Goodwin is a speedster. Richie James is a threat in the open field. If healthy, George Kittle is among the best TE's in football. The 49ers have a tough, athletic OL. Mike McGlinchey and Joe Staley are stars at Tackle. Staley has battled injury and his status is in question. Laken Tomlinson is a solid LG. Weston Richburg hasn't been the pro that most expected, but he's still more than serviceable. Kyle Juszczyk is an old school punch-you-in-the-mouth FB who is also a weapon as a receiver out of the backfield.

Defensively, the 49ers get to the QB. Dee Ford has been dynamite, but he is injured and might not play. Nick Bosa has lived up to his pre-draft hype. He gets to the QB. DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead are long and disruptive. They're massive men in the middle of the DL. I loved Fred Warner coming out of college. I really wish he was a Packer. He's been everything that I thought he'd be, a legitimate 3-down LB. Smart. Playmaker. Dre Greenlaw has been a better than expected rookie. He's been around the ball and playing with speed. Richard Sherman still has game. Ahkello Witherspoon was great and college and he's developing nicely in the NFL. I would like to see the Packers testing K'Waun Williams and Emmanuel Moseley deep down the field.

This game scares me. Kyle Shanahan scares me. Most of his play calls are designed to be passes that are 3-5 yards down the field with the possibility to grab 20+ yards. Shanahan designs game plans to get yards after the catch. I don't trust the Packers defense to make tackles against high-end athletes in space. This is a big test for Blake Martinez.

If both teams play their best football, I'd like to think that the Packers will win. But, when Rodgers gets pressured early, he's occasionally struggled to find his form. It wouldn't surprise me if SF comes at the Packers with heightened pressure early to try and knock the Packers offense out of rhythm.

The Packers are going to have to watch Coleman in a similar way to how they man-marked McCaffrey. Campbell will likely hold that responsibility. The Packers defense cannot over pursue this defense. Mind the gap. Stay in your lanes. And, watch the back side of the field. With Shanahan, it's all about deception. He lives to confuse the defense. And, often, the ball ends up on the opposite side of where you thought the ball would be.

The 49ers defense has a ton of strengths. But, I don't think they have anyone who can run with MVS on a deep route. We haven't seen much of MVS recently. Look for him to make a splash play.

Davante beats Sherman on a double move.

The offense might struggle to move the ball at-times, but Rodgers will connect on a couple of chunk plays.

Za'Darius comes up with a big strip sack from the blind side.

The defense will give up yards, once again. But, if they hold to FG's and come up with a crucial turnover, I like the Packers chances.

I'm expecting Shanahan and LaFleur to try and out-wit one another. Both pull out all of the tricks. Neither will hold anything back. Thankfully, LaFleur has the better QB. Rodgers returns to CA and comes up big in the clutch.

This one will be intense.

Packers 27
49ers 23

Go Pack Go!

Talkin' S-Mac.
talkins-mac.blogspot.com