My Take -> Week 11

Greetings, G-Force.

All of the drama. All of the chaos. All of the overwhelmingly annoying stories that the media have fed us since LaFleur decided to kick the FG at the end of NFCCG. All of it. None of it matters right now. Instead, through all of the madness, the Packers sit at 8-2. Leading the NFC. In control of home field throughout. With 7 games to play. Let’s go!

As I write, I listen to Phish from 7-14-19. Alpine Valley. Ruby Waves. It was a blue morning when I was walking down the street in Downtown Denver this am. I sip a Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout. I love this beer. Perfect on a still yet crisp mid week evening with a near full moon bursting light from the sky. I’m alive.

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

Matt LaFleur. Packers fans, we are blessed. He is ours.

Aaron Rodgers wasn’t top notch. It didn’t matter. He was a Leader. And, other than his boneheaded decision that led to the interception, #12 was mostly solid in his decision making.

Aaron Jones. Love this dude. So glad that his injury wasn’t severe. The same can be said for Gary.

Mercilus. Super bummed about his injury. He was becoming a disruptive force.

Bakhtiari. Health to you. We need you. Hoping the recovery is going better than it sounds. This OL needs him. Wild Man 70 has to get off the Field. In many ways, he’s a liability.

AJ Dillon. Where everyone thought Gutekunst was crazy for selecting him in R2 — including myself — well, he’s showing that Gutekunst knew best. It’s possible that Dillon will save the season for this team while 33 is out.

Deguara. While everyone thought Gutekunst was crazy for selecting him in R3 — including myself — well, he’s showing that Gutekunst was wrong with his selection. Deguara seems to make mental mistakes on a weekly basis.

Davante was too much for the Seattle secondary.

Nice to see MVS getting over the top.

Amos was an absolute stud.

King! I’m not sure he caught, but we will take it!

What a tremendous performance by the defense. Shutting out the Seahawks. Dominating the line of scrimmage. Kenny Clark continues to play at an All Pro level.

Barnes and Campbell. For the first time since the Desmond Bishop injury, the Packers have two consistently trustworthy players at ILB.

Gutekunst might’ve found a star in Slaton in this years Draft. He’s becoming increasingly more effective every week. I love his strength + quickness + effort combination.

Stoked for Stokes! Kid can play. He’s disciplined. He has great recovery speed. He gets his head turned around.

Another week. Another game in which Rasul made game changing plays. Dub-V to GB!

Garvin’s game is growing on me. High activity. Hustle monster. Keeps containment. He doesn’t show up much in the box score, but he’s effective.

The special teams woes must stop. Now. It’s baffling that they can’t figure out the FG unit.

This week - it’s the hated queens from Minnesota. With a win, the Packers are in complete command of the NFC NORTH.

The queens are much better than their record suggests. They’ve been the better team in most games that they’ve played. They just haven’t known how to win. They’ve blown leads. They’ve choked games away late. They have rarely played a full 60 minutes.

The Packers defense has played at a Super level this year. This will arguably be their biggest test so far. The queens will feed Cook. They’ll try to run over the Packers defensive front. In the past, the Packers have struggled to slow down Cook. Then, they’ll turn to play action. Cousins has been less prone to the big mistake this year. Without that mistake, it might be tough for the Packers to win. They’re loaded with weapons at WR and while the Packers secondary has been fantastic all year, Jefferson and Thielen are as good as any tandem in the NFL. Conklin is a solid TE. Osborn is a legit #3 WR. This is the weekend for the Packers defense to solidify themselves as a legitimate top 5 defense in the NFL. On the road. In the dome. Against a hated rival. And, a chance to essentially win the Division.

The MN defense should not be able to cover the Packers. If Rodgers is accurate and the timing is dialed in after another week of sitting out practice, the Packers should be able to put up loads of points.

I anticipate that we will see a lot of 4 WR sets. Cobb in motion. Dillon as the single back. Running into smaller defenders who will be asked to take the back back to the turf. Good luck.

Look for MVS to have two big plays off play action over the top. No one in the MN secondary can run with him.

We’ve been waiting for Savage to force a crucial turnover. This is the week.

Packers 31
queens 27

Go Pack Go!

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