My Take -> Week 2

Greetings, G-Force.

1-0! An impressive, leave-no-doubt victory over the 'queens from Minnesota. In the Dome. The last time the Packers traveled to Minnesota, the crowd left in silence as the Packers clinched the Division in Prime Time. This time, the silence was the same, but there were no fans in the Stadium.

As I write, I just finished a Mongo DIPA. It's a deliciously refreshing 8% West Coast Hop bomb. I'm moving onto Bourbon and Ginger Beer. Settled in on the Makers Mark 46 and Barritt's Ginger Beer. I'm listening to Peter Tosh's "No Nuclear War" album. Tosh brings enhanced soul to his voice throughout this 1987 release. This was Tosh's last album. He won a Grammy for the album. Tragically, he was murdered on September 11th in the same year.

Here are my quick vibes of the last week:

Thus far, Matt LaFleur absolutely owns Mike Zimmer. LaFleur is not only 3-0 against Zimmer, but Zimmer has been unable to slow down LaFleur's offense.

I saw this tweet from Ross Uglem: "Matt LaFleur's last 14 drives against Mike Zimmer (working in reverse) are victory formation, TD, TD, TD, Punt (when MVS dropped the wide open crossing route), TD, TD, FG, Downs on the 1 yard line after the Adams dropped TD, FG, Victory Formation, Punt (running out the clock), TD, Punt, TD." That's absolutely unbelievable.

While the Packers offense looked unstoppable, I'm wondering if the Packers offense is that good or if the 'queens defense is that questionable. You can't cover Adams with a rookie CB. Adams will win every time. The 'queens had no pass rush. They had no semblance of CB play. So, I'm going to hold my full-fledged optimism for now, but it was fun to see this offense flourish in a crucial division game.

Aaron Rodgers was in MVP form. He was accurate. He was cerebral. He was quick to hit the check down. He hit 7 different receivers. He was in mid-season form.

Davante Adams is a dynamite football player. Fluid as ever as a route runner. Sensational to see him tie Don Hutson's record with 14 receptions.

Allen Lazard is a legitimate #2 receiver. 4 catches on 4 targets. 15.8 yards per catch. A fierce blocker. Tough to tackle after the catch.

MVS. A mixed bag of goods. 4 catches. 6 targets. 2 absolutely brutal drops. The TD before the half was beautiful and had me feeling renewed vigor for him. I hope he can gain confidence. He doesn't trust himself right now.

Deguara showed well in his rookie debut.

Bakhtiari was a Superstar.

Kudos to Jenkins for his versatility.

Linsley was dominant on the interior.

Aaron Jones is a difference maker. He moves so much differently than the other backs on the roster. He appears primed for a big year. It'll be important for the Packers to use load maintenance on him early in the year to keep him healthy for the stretch run.

Tyler Ervin is going to be a fun toy for LaFleur to use all year. 4 touches. 48 yards. He's dangerous.

Jaire Alexander. Playmaker. He singlehandedly flipped this game.

Kevin King stepping up! Loved the open field tackle. And, the stop on the following 4th down.

Krys Barnes. Is he a name to know in 2020? Sure showed impressively in Week 1.

Za'Darius Smith gobbling QB's on 3rd down will never get old.

Take less steps in your rush, Rashan Gary. Just drive forward.

I'm going to reserve any potential criticisms of players on this roster until I see more out of them.

This week - it's the Lions. If the Packers can grab victory, a 2-0 start with two Division wins would be a sublime start to the 2020 football season.

The Packers will have to win the line of scrimmage. Adrian Peterson can still rumble. Matt Stafford can still whip the football around. TJ Hockenson is a big, bruising TE who will give the Packers problems. Danny Amendola is a slot WR who will frustrate. Marvin Jones has had big plays against the Packers in the past. Quintez Cephus was talented at Wisconsin. He'll challenge the Packers secondary.

While on offense, the Packers will have to block Trey Flowers. Jarrad Davis is a beast at ILB. The Lions secondary is banged up. They shouldn't be able to cover the Packers on the outside.

Davante Adams is going to have another field day. The Lions won't be able to cover him.

Protect Rodgers and I expect the Packers to score 30 points.

Get in Stafford's face and turnovers will follow.

The Packers should win by three scores, but without Kenny Clark, I worry about their ability to stop the run. So, Detroit will keep it close. They might even have a shot at winning.

But, in the end, the Rodgers to Adams combination will be too much.

Points -- for both teams -- should come in abundance.

Packers 31 Lions 27.

Go Pack Go!

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