My Take -> Week 9

Greetings, G-Force.

Once again, it was on display for the Football world to see. The Green Bay Packers have the same issues in 2020 that they did in 2021. And, over the course of the last year, Gutekunst did nothing to fix them.

As I write, I sip a Green Flash West Coast IPA. It’s been my most frequently consumed beer over the last month or so. A 7.0% hop bomb. I listen to The Movement’s “Ways of the World” album. I love “Take Me to the Ocean.” It brings a relaxing poppy, reggae island sensation.

My quick vibes from the last week:

Once again, Matt LaFleur’s mastery was on display. The offense looked good. Receivers were open. The Packers moved the ball. Even without their superstar LT and RB.

Rodgers wasn’t on target. He played very well. But, his miss to Jace was brutal. And, I wish he’d have been more accurate on the deep ball to Tonyan. Still, Rodgers was mostly dialed in and moving the ball with efficiency.

Davante Adams is truly special.

I remind you to enjoy this season. The roster isn’t constructed in a fashion to have this team compete for a title. But, there’s so much goodness surrounding this team. So, please, appreciate this QB + Head Coach relationship. We might not see something like this for a long time. Cherish it!

Another rock solid performance by Jamaal Williams.

When Bakhtiari returns from injury, I hope Wagner stays at RT.

Well. The time came for a WR — other than Davante — to make a play when he wasn’t schemed open. Someone other than Adams. Twice, Rodgers hit ESB in the hands. He dropped them both. From then on, the Packers were playing catch up.

This defense lived off of big plays last year. Turnovers. Sacks to propel the team to get off of the field. Those plays aren’t happening with frequency in 2020.

I've been critical of Gutekunst. But, I applaud his aggressiveness in trying to trade for Will Fuller. If reports are true that they wanted a 2nd round pick, I'm happy that Gutekunst stuck with his guns and didn't bite. Had Fuller's contract not been expiring in 8 games, I'd have traded a 2nd round pick. But, it doesn't make sense to give up significant Draft capital for a rental.

This week - it's the 49ers. In SF. On Thursday Night. Both teams will be a shell of themselves with injuries and COVID playing a major role. It's hard to imagine that these two rosters will be competing in a monstrous NFC battle. It's a game that holds significance importance as the NFC gets conjested with teams between 3 and 5 wins.

While the Packers will be limited at the RB position, they will still have Rodgers, Davante, Tonyan, Jace, and MVS. They might also have Lazard. The 49ers are more decimated than the Packers are and therefore, the Packers should be in better position to win the war of attrition.

Last year, in two games, the Packers had zero answer for the 49ers run game. Expect the 49ers to use Jerick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty to pound the ball at the Packers defensive front. The 49ers will be without LT Trent Williams. This game is begging for the Smith Bros., Kenny Clark, Gary and Lowry to dominate the line of scrimmage. Shanahan will also utilize play action pass. His receiving options are extremely limited, but look for Richie James to get the ball in open space. James is elusive and can present challenges. Kyle Juszczyk will also be utilized in the flat on the rollout. The 49ers will have Nick Mullens at QB. He's turnover prone. The Packers must force him into mistakes.

The 49ers DL is also beat up. The Packers OL has to give Rodgers protection. Even with the injuries, the 39ers have talent with Armstead, Kinlaw, Jones and Hyder. Jones and Armstead have trashed the Packers in the past. Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are superstars at LB.

The Packers must beat SF with protection and crossing routes. I'd also like to see some of Davante Adams at RB where the Packers get him in the ball in the flat on pass plays liked they did in ATL in 2016. On that day, the Packers were without depth at RB. McCarthy moved WR's to RB and used a multitude of passes to WR's out of the backfield. Might we see something similar from LaFleur? One thing is for sure: the Packers can't trust Dexter Williams.

This 49ers team is beat up. If the Packers can jump out to an early lead, this could be a big-time blowout. But, that'll require the Defensive front to show up in the run game. Amazingly so, I think the 49ers are so beat up that the Packers might be able to limit SF's success.

I also think the Packers force at least one turnover and possibly much more.

Expect Rodgers to be dialed in. He hits MVS over the top for a big play.

The Packers get back on track in a big way.

Packers 27
49ers 16

Go Pack Go!

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