My Take -> Week 4

Greetings, G-Force.

3-0! Emphatically. With big plays galore! Heading into a short week, which thankfully is another home game. The Packers are fortunate to not have to travel this year for the short week road game. Be sure to enjoy these times with maximum appreciation.

It’s rare that I write with raw emotion after a game. I do so today. Normally, I’ll take a second look at the game. I won’t have time to do so this week. I write with a New Glarus Break O’ Day IPA in front of me. Fruity, citrusy goodness. A damn good beer. An interesting twist on the NE IPA style. New Glarus crushes life. My headphones blast Bob Marley’s 1977 album, “Exodus.” This album is crafted to perfection. It’s among my favorite albums ever created.

Here are my quick vibes:

Mike Pettine drew up a different game plan than what we’ve seen in the first two weeks. He went with a heavy zone approach.He rushed three in the Red Zone. On 25 of 73 plays, he had two ILB’s on the field. It was a perfect approach, but he held Denver to 16 points, his unit forced 3 turnovers and they had 6 sacks. Through three weeks, Pettine has designed defensive game plans that have yet to give up 20 points in a game.

Early in games, Matt LaFleur’s offenses have been quick to the line. There is a rhythm to the unit. There’s pace. Rodgers has been walking up to Center with roughly 25 seconds to play. There’s an unpredictable feel to the offense. And, in return, we’ve seen the Packers move the football. But, as the game wears on, almost oddly, the offense reverts back to ghosts of days past. We see the play clock drip near zero. We see solely deep routes. We lose all semblance of an attacking mindset. And, sustainable results have quickly diminished.

Another sun shining day for Brian Gutekunst: The Smith Bros. combined for 5 sacks and a forced fumble. Savage had a pick. Gary had a sack and a fumble recovery. Jaire had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Through three weeks, Aaron Rodgers has been highly inconsistent. He’s flashed moments of his MVP form. And, he’s following those plays up with highly inaccurate throws and wasted plays. The TD pass to MVS was absolute perfection. The incomplete 3rd down pass to G-Mo on the second possession of the game was airmailed to brutality. If Rodgers can find his form, look out, as the sky will be the limit for this team.

Bryan Bulaga continues to play sensational football.

David Bakhtiari kept the pocket clean in pass protection.

Vitale on the wheel route!

I’m football happy!

It sure felt like Jenkins held up well at the point.

I liked seeing Marcedes Lewis grabbing the ball in space. He’s the best TE on the roster.

Bob Tonyan was open on a 1st Quarter deep ball. Had he not temporarily stopped his route, he’d have scored a TD.

Jamaal Williams was dialed in and running hard. I was surprised that he played 61% of the snaps compared to only 39% for Jones. Williams touched the ball 14 times compared to Jones’ 11. If it were me, the offense would run through Jones week in and week out.

Catch the ball, G-Mo. Focus!

“We got a defense.”

Through three weeks, the Packers are +6 in turnover differential. And, there’s no reason to think that the turnovers won’t continue to be forced.

Keep on crawlin’, Za’Darius! Big dawg has to eat!

A relentless, full-on inspiring performance by Preston!

Blake Martinez played as physical as he can play. Stacking and shedding. A sure tackler. Solid performance by Blake.

After the Gary sack, he went to the sideline for one play. When he came back out to the field after a quick breather, Gary looked hobbled. Preston Smith got in his face with an encouraging head slap and some animated words. Gary immediately looked recharged. Great leadership by Preston!

Fackrell is so close to making a game changing play. He’s putting himself in position. It’s only a matter of time before he gets home on a big sack.

I really wish Savage was wearing #36. Put him in the same jersey that we’ve seen LeRoy and Nintendo Nick wearing. Have the uniform reserved for Stallion Safeties. Savage is a beast!

Kenny Clark is unbelievably quick off of the snap. I wish he’d have finished the play on 4th down at the goal line, but nonetheless, it was great to see him bursting through the line of scrimmage to put himself in position to prevent score and that was great to see.

Another really strong performance by Lowry.

Lancaster is a really good rotational run defender. He’s tough to move and he slides down the line really well.

I was happy to see Keke getting snaps. He plays with a high powered motor. I’d like to see him, Gary and the Smith Bros. on the field for a 3rd down play in the near future.

Fadol Brown lacked burst and was held up at the line. I was hoping he’d take the next stop this year and become a solid rotational player. Thus far, that hasn’t happened.

Over the last two weeks, the defense has showed signs of weakness in the run game. The Donkeys ran right at the heart of the defense and had success. In the future, they can expect teams to mimic that approach. Run the ball on 1st and 2nd down between the tackles. Control the clock. Trust the offense to convert on 3rd and short. What’s interesting about the run defense giving up big yards is that there were many positive individual performances in the run game, but the unit — as a whole — struggled to stop the ball.

Orchestrate the celebration, Will Redmond! That’s great fun!

JK SCOTT!!! Booming the ball!

Make the kick, Mason. It would’ve been nice to see the Packers getting 30 points on the board against a Fangio defense.

When I saw Shepherd line up in the slot, I expected to see something entertaining. Instead, it was a WR screen that called for Shepherd to block. Clearly, that didn’t work.

Really up and down day for MVS. He was a statistical monster. The speed on the deep ball was eye popping. But, he also lost concentration a couple of times. The dropped passes have to stop.

Consider this: the Packers are 3-0 and the mechanics of the offense are still a work in progress. There’s been a lack of consistency on quickly getting to the line of scrimmage. Rodgers has been inconsistent. And, there have been a wide number of pre snap penalties. As the operation of the offense improves — which it should in the future — you’d have to imagine that this team will grow to be a group that is capable of winning an offensive shootout.

I thought that the Milwaukee crowd showed up really well on Sunday. The crowd was loud. The Stadium has great energy to it. If the crowd brings that type of vibrancy this year, the Packers will be really tough to beat at Lambeau.

I’m hoping for MVS to catch 10 passes that are a minimum of 30 yards this year. Through three games, he has caught two of them.

4th Quarter. Up 8. The Packers got the ball at their own 26 with 13:30 to play. The offense was coming off of back-to-back poor possessions. Rodgers and LaFleur nutted up. They responded with an 11 play, 51 yard drive that chewed up 7:41 off of the clock. Crosby connected on the FG to make it a two score game. That’s solid football.

Jimmy Graham played 24 of 57 offensive snaps. That’s 24 too many snaps.

After three weeks, the Packers have already lost two players to IR. Lane Taylor might have been struggling early in the year, but it’s a big blow to the depth of the OL to lose him for the year.

Here’s my 2020 Mock Draft:

Round 1: Isaiah Simmons, ILB, Clemson.
Round 2: JR Reed, S, Georgia.
Round 3: Grant Calcaterra, TE, Oklahoma.
Round 4: Leki Fotu, DL, Utah.
Round 5: AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College.
Round 6: Drew Richmond, OT, USC.
Round 6: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU.
Round 7: Michael Pittman, WR, USC.
Round 7: Scooter Harrington, TE, Stanford.
Round 7: Asmar Bilal, ILB, ND.

This week - it's the Eagles. It's the third straight home game and it offers the chance to remain undefeated, one-quarter of the way through the season. The more I chew on it, the more I'm excited that 5 of the first 7 games were at home. It certainly offers the Packers an opportunity to be in the driver's seat at the midway point of the season in LaFleur's inaugural season as Head Coach. Additionally, it's fair to assume that LaFleur will improve over time with his ability to make in-game adjustments. But, the Packers have to take this stretch one-game at a time. Win on Thursday night and get a mini bye! Let's fucking go, baby!

Offensively, the Eagles have a number of weapons. Carson Wentz is a master at extending plays. He throws an excellent deep ball. He is dangerous with his legs. He's a never say die fighter. DeSean Jackson won't play. JJ Arcega-Whiteside is a big, intimidating WR who has yet to make his impact. The Eagles get Alshon Jeffery back. Jeffery is a great deep threat who will challenge the Packers over the top. Nelson Agholor is a speedy WR who is often used in motion. Agholor is best in the slot. He's a tough cover. Zach Ertz is among the best TE's in the game. At RB, the Eagles have a number of weapons. Jordan Howard has often been tough for GB to tackle in the past. Miles Sanders is a weapon with the ball in his hands. Darren Sproles is still a threat. Corey Clement is a talented back who makes big plays in single back formations as a runner and a receiver. The Eagles also have a tenured OL. A unit who has mostly been together and had a lot of success together.

Defensively, even without Tim Jernigan, the Eagles are stacked up front. Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham can get to the QB on the EDGE. They're ferocious competitors. Fletcher Cox is arguably the best DT in football. Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat are very good rotational defensive line players. Nigel Bradham is a stud at ILB. Zach Brown was a score as a Free Agent. I wish the Packers would've grabbed Brown. The Eagles secondary is banged up. Ronald Darby won't play. Rasul Douglas is talented, but he's not fleet of foot and will struggle to keep up with MVS on the deep ball. Sidney Jones is still developing. Avonte Maddox is undersized and will likely only play in the slot. At Safety, the Eagles are as talented as it gets with Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Andrew Sendejo and Jonathan Cyprien.

The Eagles are a battle tested team. Sure, they're 1-2, but they aren't going to drop to 1-3 with ease. This will be a dog fight.

I expect a higher scoring affair than we've seen in 2019. I anticipate that Doug Pedersen will have a good game plan to attack the Packers DL by running between the tackles. It'll open up the play action. Look for the Eagles to challenge the Packers secondary over the top.

If the Packers don't get inside pressure, Wentz will cause all kinds of problems with his feet. Pettine should look to send Martinez on multiple inside blitzes. If so, Wentz will hold onto the ball too long and eventually give the Packers a chance to make a play defensively.

I expect Rodgers to have his best game of the year. Look for the Packers to play a lot of single back formations with Aaron Jones as the lone back. Jones didn't play much against the Broncos. I imagine that LaFleur was saving him for this week. LaFleur spreads out the depleted Philly secondary. Davante gets busy.

Jones punches his way to the second level and tops 100 yards. He gets loose on a big run.

MVS gets over the top of the Eagles defense for a big play.

Jaire gets his first pick of the season.

I have a feeling that Kyler Fackrell is going to grab his first sack of the year.

It'll be a nail biter. The Packers defense holds late to preserve a perfect September!

STAY. LOUD. LAMBEAU!

Packers 31.
Eagles 27.

Go Pack Go!

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