My Take -> Week 4

Greetings, G-Force.

After a highly tumultuous offseason, my Packers spirit needed a pick me up. It needed a moment of connectivity. The Sunday Night thriller has me feeling a sense of exhale.

As I write, I sip a 2014 Crooked Stave Origins. Burgundy Sour. Aged in Oak Barrels. A victory beer. I listen to the Phish Shoreline 9-1-21 show. I cannot get enough of that 2-night run, it was me mentally “Screaming Through Space!”

Here are my quick vibes from the last t week:

Matt LaFleur. His play design on the 2nd drive of the game was elite play calling. Schematic brilliance. LaFleur is always a competitor, but his demonstrative sideline presence showed how much he knew his team needed this victory.

Aaron Rodgers. That was the #12 that we saw last year. Calm. Cerebral. Seeing the Field. Patient in the pocket. An MVP performance.

Mason Crosby. $$$.

It didn’t work, but I loved LaFleur’s instincts to go for it up 10 on 4th and 1. He was craving a 3-score lead.

Allen Lazard volunteering to cover kickoffs after watching the kickoff return near the end of the first half is everything that’s is right about this team.

Stoked for Stokes! I thought the rookie played a great game. Two highly questionable Pass Interference calls against him didn’t detract from his performance. Stokes shows up in a Grateful Dead shirt in SF? Kid gets it.

Thought Campbell played really well. He attacked the SF stretch runs and never allowed them to take it upfield. He was the aggressor.

Gutekunst might’ve struck gold with the interior combination of Runyan, Myers and Wild Man 70. This might give the team the option of moving Jenkins to RT to solidify the OL for the future.

Yosh Nijman. I’ll never forget his performance. Legitimately unbelievable. He dominated Nick Bosa after the 1st series of the game.

Solid performance from the Defensive front. Clark was a beast. Lowry had a nice push. Slaton and Lancaster held the point. Gary and Preston were more disruptive than the box score suggests.

I’m starting to worry about Keke and his ability to play in the NFL. Had high hopes for him.

Don’t overlook Dominique Dafney being put on IR. Dafney has developed into a stellar blocker. He had clearly beaten out Jace Sternberger. He was a valuable versatile role player for this offense. He’s also a worthwhile special teams player. Hope he’s healthy soon!

This week - it’s the Steelers coming to Lambeau. It’ll be the first game that I will have attended in 2 years. Over the last 12 years, these two teams have had 4 epic battles. In 09, Big Ben won it at the end. In February of 11, XLV was given to us to enjoy forever. In 13, the Flynn threw incomplete on the last play of the game in the end zone and the Packers lost by 7. In 2017, the Steelers made a last second FG to claim victory. This year, it’s an early season this feels somewhat like as much of a must-win for both franchises as a 1st weekend of October could be. The Steelers are 1-2, with their backs against the wall. The Packers are 2-1, but it feels like they will need to win their home games in what appears to be an extremely difficult schedule.

The Steelers are a better team than their record suggests. They’re physical on defense. They have players who will force turnovers. They’ll win the line of scrimmage. On offense, they have playmakers all over the field. The Packers are going to have to find a way to get to Big Ben of this will be a rough day at Lambeau Field.

If the Steelers are getting Watt back from injury this week, the Packers are going to have to give Yosh help. Watt can destroy an offense, by himself. It'll be important for the Packers to keep him off balance. While Yosh was unbelievable last week, I find it tough to believe that he'll be able to mirror that performance in back-to-back weeks against elite EDGE rushers.

The Steelers have a dynamite starting combination of CB’s. They have no depth. Look for LaFleur and Rodgers to test that depth. With MVS being unlikely to play, the Packers will need someone else to be a presence over the top of the defense. I’ve had a hunch that ESB will get his opportunities to play the MVS role. He makes a play down the Field.

I’ve been waiting for Tonyan to have a big game. It happens this weekend.

Stoked for Stokes gets his first career interception.

Campbell and Kenny Clark are big in the run game.

Rodgers tosses 3 TD’s.

Once again, this game comes down the end. The defense gets the stop as Gary grabs a big sack.

Packers 27
Steelers 23

Go Pack Go!

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