My Take -> Week 15

Greetings, G-Force.

December wins must be cherished. There’s no need for concern over style points. Scoreboard points are all that matters. Enjoy these days.

As I write, I listen to Burning Spear’s “Marcus Garvey” album. Deeply rooted reggae vibes echo through my mind. I sip a Left Hand Chai Milk Stout. It’s nitro, creamy goodness with the perfect amount of Chai spice finish. The beer is a winner!

My quick vibes from the last week:

Matt LaFleur was dialed in. Don’t let this offensive performance fool you about his playcalling. He was in attack mode. A lot of motion. A lot of play action. But, the fumble and two near misses on deep balls made it look less than appetizing. If Rodgers holds onto the ball and if he hits Jones/Graham, the Packers would’ve had a 37 point performance. These are “if’s” yes, but the players have to execute the play. On the deep balls, the call worked, the players didn’t finish.

Mike Pettine set the tone for the game. He was in control from the start. He made sure the stage was too big for Haskins.

Aaron Rodgers did not climb the wizard list with his performance against Washington.

You are what your record says you are and last I checked the Packers hold the #2 seed in the NFC with a 10-3 record. Toss away the stats, wins are what matters. The most important stat is the standings. With 3 weeks to play, the Packers are sitting pretty.

I marvel at the way Aaron Jones keeps his balance. In a both frantic yet casual way, he spins his arms in circles to sharply turn corners and to cut the ball back across the field. Jones consistently uses his balance as arguably his greatest trait for picking up yards when they don’t appear to exist.

Across the board, the OL played really well. Fun to watch Jenkins in short yardage. On 4th and 1, Jenkins had the quickness and the power to take both the DL and the ILB out of the play to help Williams pick up the first down.

Quietly, Billy Turner has had a really good season.

Matt LaFleur is not afraid to call 3-TE sets. And, I love it.

I wish Jimmy Graham had an extra gear. Graham played as well as we can expect him to, at this stage of his career. He did his job. And, he’s blocking fairly well, too. But, his athleticism has declined tremendously.

Marcedes Lewis was a blocking machine. He was consistently moving people backwards.

Tonyan! Loved seeing him extend for the TD. Good footwork, too!

Thought Jace did a great job blocking on the outside. On the pass to him in the end zone, he needed to sit down in the zone. If he had, he’d have scored his first TD. Rodgers three the ball where it needed to be. Jace lacked awareness on the play.

Za’Darius Smith continues to be the best player on the team. He brings a palpable energy to the defensive front. I love the way Pettine continues to move him around. He needs to be accounted for on every play. And, Pettine is making it hard to find him.

Kenny Clark! Let’s hope we see more of that version of Clark in the month of December and beyond. He was a force!

Another star shining day for Jaire.

Adrian Amos continues to look more and more comfortable with this defense. He’s becoming a peg that Pettine is putting in position to be the playmaker. Amos has been performing really well most of the year, but especially as of late. He was dynamic in the win over Washington.

Chandon Sullivan played well. Fun to see him deflect the 3rd down pass to get the defense off of the field.

Twice, the ball was on the ground for the defense to steal. Unlucky to not come up with it.

There was a Josh Jackson sighting and the results were positive.

Great game, Darnell Savage. The strip was beautiful. He also made a TD saving tackle on the play in which Guice got injured. I’d have preferred to see Savage tackling him higher to prevent the Dalvin Cook style TD that we saw earlier this year, but a really good tackle by Savage in the open field.

Blake Martinez was active and in charge.

Lancaster and Lowry were setting a physical tone at the line of scrimmage.

Rashan Gary isn’t always the quickest off the snap, but when he gets his motor revving, he has quickness and a desire to finish the play.

It was clear that this game was really important to Preston Smith. He’s up to 11.5 sacks on the year.

Tyler Ervin!!! It’s been a woeful year for a return units, but Ervin offered hope. He wasn’t flashy, but he made people miss and run forward. He was shifty finding his was up the field. 4 returns with a 12.8 average and a long of 18 yards. I’ll take that weekly.

Mason Crosby. Money!

While it was not a super feel good kind of day for the offense, it should be noted that the offense, once again, was able to deliver a 4th Quarter Championship Drive to essentially seal the game. The offense got the ball back with 9:58 to play. They took over from their own 11. They went 74 yards on 14 plays. They ate up 7:24 off of the clock. They made it a 2-score game and ensured that this team got to 10-3.

Aaron Rodgers is a proud man. He knows the headlines. He’s not happy about it. Expect Rodgers’ soul to shine this weekend.

Quick NFL Draft thought: I anticipate that Gutekunst will look to trade back in this years Draft to fully stock up on mid to late round picks. With the way the Packers cap situation looks over the next two years, Gutekunst is going to have to compile a number players on the roster who have 1st year contracts. Look for him to pair those youngsters with multiple veterans who will come on 1 year prove it deals, similar to what he did with Wilkerson and Lewis over the last two years.

For my Packers 2020 Mock Draft, I used the Draft Network’s big board. As a side note, the Draft Network’s Draft order is not updated as it only recognizes the Packers as having 2 7th round picks. Here goes:

Round 1: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson.
Round 2:Austin Jackson, OT, USC.
Round 3: Rashard Lawrence, SL, LSU.
Round 4: JR Reed, S, Georgia.
Round 5: Lamical Perine, RB, Florida.
Round 6: Jonathan Garvin, EDGE, []_[].
Round 6: Kendall Coleman, EDGE, Syracuse.
Round 7: Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame.
Round 7: Cameron Brown, ILB, Penn State.
Round 7: Daelin Hayes, EDGE, Notre Dame.

This week - its the hated Bears coming to Lambeau Field. The Bears are coming to Titletown, U.S.A. with full confidence. They've won 3 straight and hold onto hope for a late playoff push. The Bears entered 2019 with Super Bowl aspirations. The Packers have a chance to crush their dreams. With a Packers win, the Bears would be eliminated from playoff contention. It's December. It's the NFL's greatest rivalry. It'll be near single digit weather. Both teams have winning records. It doesn't get any better than this.

The Bears have started to find a rhythm on offense. Their young QB has, once again, started to run with the football. If he's forced to be a pocket QB, he's proven to be ineffective, but when he can use his mobility to attack a defense, he is a dangerous weapon. He throws well on the run and he's a good running QB. When he's extending plays with his legs, he can control a game. David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen make for a good 1-2 combo at RB. Both are solid receiving options. Montgomery is excellent at breaking tackles. Cohen is as elusive as it gets. He'll be targeted multiple times as a receiver. Anthony Miller is an ascending WR who wins in traffic. Allen Robinson has superstar potential. He's been terrific for the Bears during their winning streak. The Bears might be without Taylor Gabriel and Javon Wims. Cordarrelle Patterson always seems to make a play against the Packers. Pettine will have to have a plan in place to limit Patterson when he touches the ball. The Packers must attack the right side of the Bears OL. Alex Bars and Rashaad Coward aren't legitimate NFL starters. Charles Leno is a good player at LT, but he struggles with a speed rush. Cody Whitehair and James Daniels are good players, but they're grabbers. With a quick shifting hip move to the inside, they're susceptible to holding calls.

Roy Robertson-Harris has destroyed the Packers over the last two years. He's listed as questionable. If he can't go, the Packers would catch a huge break. The Bears get Hicks back this week. He's disruptive. Khalil Mack is still the most disruptive EDGE player in the game. While the stats aren't flashy, Leonard Floyd is also playing very good football. Bilal Nichols and Nicholas Williams have overachieved for the Bears this year. Both have brought great hustle. At ILB, Nick Kwiatkoski has been great. He's stepped in and is in the midst of earning himself a nice contract as a UDFA after the year. Kevin Pierre-Louis has also played with a speed + power combination that has grabbed attention. The Bears back-up ILB's have shown premier abilities. Kyle Fuller continues to be a shutdown CB. He jumps routes and is a game changer. Eddie Jackson also brings the ability to immediately alter the complexion of a game. Prince Amukamara has started to show signs of decline. HaHa Clinton-Dix has played fairly well for Chicago. He's been around the ball. Buster Skrine has been good in the slot, but I still believe that he can be beaten.

Throughout the year, the Packers have ensured that Aaron Jones was fresh for the stretch run. This week - Aaron Jones should touch the ball 25 times. The Packers have to be dictators at the line of scrimmage. With it, the play action pass will open up.

Look for LaFleur to test Amukamara on a deep ball that comes off of play action pass early in the game. Rodgers must trust the play design and take a shot. Lazard is much bigger than Amukamara and would be able to win a jump ball. The Packers have to take advantage of that match-up.

Defensively, look for Pettine to stack the right side of the Bears line. Clark and Preston Smith on the left side of the defense with Za'Darius coming on the stunt. He'll overload the Bears and force the Bears young QB to play with happy feet.

The Packers should have Jaire match-up with Allen Robinson all over the field. On 3rd down, it feels like Robinson is always the Bears young QB's first read. Miller is the 2nd. If Jaire can neutralize Robinson, it'll be tough for Chicago to move the football.

On two occasion, the Packers defense will have a chance to force a turnover. If the defense can hold onto the football, the Packers should win this game by 2-scores.

Look for Campbell to spy the Bears young QB.

I expect to see a razor sharp performance from Rodgers. 2 TD's. 0 turnovers.

December wins are fun wins. Regardless of how they look.

Packers 27.
Bears 16.

THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Go Pack Go!

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