My Take -> Week 6

Greetings, G-Force.

What an awkwardly thrilling victory! The Packers showed great perseverance, stamina and mental mettle as they gutted out the nail biting victory.

As I write, I sip a Joyride Experiment IPA #20. It’s odd to me that the clear IPA is seemingly a thing of the past. They’ve become cloudy or lightly malty. I prefer my IPA’s to be crisp and clear. This one delivers. In grand fashion. An instant favorite of mine. I listen to the Bob Marley “Kaya” album. It’s a chilly evening in CO, but reggae music warms the soul.

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Matt LaFleur is a play calling wizard. But, in Cincinnati, we witnessed a conservative approach that we haven’t seen in his 2+ years with him as Coach. Inside the Red Zone, we saw very little eye candy for the defense. With that, the offense stalled.

Aaron Rodgers. After the 1st Quarter, when he was given time, he was mostly accurate. He wasn’t seeing the Field in elite fashion, but he was safe with the football. He was efficient. He put the Packers in position to win.

Aaron Jones. Superstar. All hunger.

Davante Adams. An absolute weapon on offense.

This team needs to utilize Robert Tonyan in the Gold Zone. He’s the solution.

AJ Dillon is a tremendous pass catching RB. I didn’t see that coming.

The OL wasn’t as dominant as it’d been in recent weeks, but it was another gutty + impressive performance by this makeshift group.

Dean Lowry was fantastic!

Kenny Clark is playing at an All Pro level.

Dre Campbell!! Showing himself as a steal of a claim.

Stoked for Stokes! Another sound performance for the rookie.

Catch the ball, Savage. Like Amos did.

Nice to see Preston rushing up the Field rather than dropping in coverage this year.

Liked seeing Gary lining up over Center as a stand up rusher.

Barnes and Burks both showed burst blitzing the QB.

Can’t wait to see Jaylon Smith!

Hamilton is a high effort player on the edge. He’s a step slow and he plays 1/3 yard off the ball further than I wish he did, but I like his energy.

Slaton eats up blockers.

Marcedes Lewis brings tears to the eyes. So fun!

There were many moments of poor execution on offense. Felt like ESB and Deguara were often either out muscled or mentally out of sync.

Randall Cobb picking up 1st downs!

At some point the Packers are going to have to get the ball to Amari Rodgers when he’s in motion, just to keep the defense honest. Otherwise, he’s not even worth a look.

Liked the early screen to Hill, wish he’d be the eye candy jet sweep morion man rather than Amari. Feels like he’s more of a threat in the open field.

I like the Dunbar signing. Fairly remarkable to think that Gutekunst has added Smith, Douglas and Dunbar at this point in the season.

This week - it’s our hated neighbors to the South. The suddenly upstart Bears who have found new hope behind their rookie QB. With back-to-back impressive performances, the Bears appear to be vastly improved over what many thought they’d be in 2021.

The Bears play defense. They attack the football. They win the line of scrimmage. Hicks’ injury status is huge.

The Bears have injuries at RB. Like the Packers have injuries at CB. Expect the Bears to attack the Packers down the field opposite Stokes. Stokes is brimming with confidence. Across from him, Yiadom is not trusting his instincts. The Bears will look to beat Yiadom down the field.

I'd like to think that if the Packers can protect Rodgers, the reigning MVP will have a stellar day. He'll find Adams. He'll get Tonyan involved. He'll hit Lazard on a deep crossing route. The Bears don't have the depth at CB to cover GB.

Early in the game, the Packers find success running the football. It opens up play action. The Packers strike first.

But, the Bears hang around. Fields is efficient. He intelligently picks up 1st downs with his legs. He is accurate in the pocket as the Bears OL holds up. Let's hope the Packers defense finally holds the opposition out of the end zone in the Red Zone.

Offensively, the Packers finish drives. I've been begging for Tonyan. This week - again, I'm predicting it! Tonyan scores twice.

THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Packers 27
Bears 23

Go Pack Go!

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