Week 1: Packers @ Vikings Pre-Game Thead

[Schultz]

I hope you are correct about their defense taking a step back. You make a logical argument. JJeff,(stud) Addison, Jennings and Hock are quality NFL players who are tied to Murray's play. Word out of Minny is Mason will be the lead back. The reason for my caution is nobody expected Darnold to be Darnold when O'Connel got his hands on him. Hopefully it takes Murray a little longer to improve under him.

 

[OldSchool101]

Last year in 2025 almost everyone predicted Minnesota to not only make the Playoffs, but many had them ahead of Green Bay and some even predicted a Division Champion.
Excuse me for not buying the juice everyone is selling. This season hinges on 1 player because this Minnesota Defense is NOT better than 2025. It’s VERY rare that multiple Rookies outplay established Veterans. 2 years? Maybe.
This rhetoric about Kevin turning Kyler into an All Pro is just bordering on silliness.

 

[milani]

I hope you are correct about their defense taking a step back. You make a logical argument. JJeff,(stud) Addison, Jennings and Hock are quality NFL players who are tied to Murray's play. Word out of Minny is Mason will be the lead back. The reason for my caution is nobody expected Darnold to be Darnold when O'Connel got his hands on him. Hopefully it takes Murray a little longer to improve under him.

This is a division game. That makes a difference. Both teams know each other. Both coaches know each other. Do not sell the Minny defense short. They will be out to stop the run and bring pressure more than a lot of our opponents. Their crowd will help them. O'Connell is a good game planner. He will direct Murray to just manage the game instead of trying to win it himself as in Arizona. I give the big play advantage to the Vikings here. In the past I could give them the big mistake advantage as well.

Key for us will be limiting penalties and executing first reads. If it comes down to adlibbing Love does not have enough of a supporting cast especially on the road. And the Vikings will run blitz and pass blitz trying to get us out of rhythm. This is when you wish Jacobs was playing. He knows how to help his QB in those situations. I hope we do not have to abandon our game plan too soon.

Defensively, the Packers will have to be aggressive and take some chances. If we sit back the Vikings will move down the field with both the run and pass. Kyler knows how to read the field. If we double Jefferson he will find someone else or take off. But he will not try and bite off more than he can chew. This is what O'Connell lacked in JJ, a game manager.

 

[OldSchool101]

RB
Mason + Jones combined for 1,300 yards and 10 TD’s in 2025 at 4.6 per carry. While that’s not terrible it’s absolutely nothing scary level. No other Vikings player had more than 250 yards last year. GB has a pair of 3rd Rounders who are both relatively new or unproven. However that is unproven mostly because neither have been featured yet. This pair floats at 220lb and 226lb pounds and both were standout rushers in the Big 10 and SEC conferences. While neither have much experience, neither are Rookies either. Both have went through 2 or 3 NFL Camps or preseasons or played Teams. Both also have something to prove and are going to be highly motivated to do so. Advantage Minnesota.

WR
This is Minnesota’s strength. That said, past Jefferson they are just good but nothing special. They have an obvious true #1 in Jefferson. Addison has never cracked 960 all All purpose and last year had 630 yards and 3 TD’s across 14 games. Juan Jennings will provide a legit WR3+ Behind that they’d better pray nobody gets injured because it’s not good. 2025 RD3,
Tai Felton has 25 career yards and Myles Price has never caught an NFL pass. In addition Jeshaun Jones was recently suspended 3 games.
GB has a very good Slot in Reed who’s led our team just under 1,000 yards per in his healthy seasons. Golden is newer but no longer a Rookie and he’s likely going to see a jump in targets and very likely going to surprise folks. GB rarely misses on a top 50 type WR, much less top #23.

I think people are forgetting that we didn’t have Reed or Watson for 17 games in 2025. That’s like missing 1 ALL season. Now we’ve got a possession, deep threat and Slot Wideout along with a QB entering his prime. I’d give Minnesota a slight advantage on paper, but it’s entirely possible Murray will need time to perfect timing. Advantage Minnesota (on paper)

TE.
This goes to GB and it’s really not even close. Tucker Kraft is better than TJ Hockenson and while Tucker is on that field he’s a problem for opposing Defenses. The best MN can pray for is Tucker only plays 1 Qtr or had lots of rust. Good luck because he’s been impressing in practices.
Jonnu Smith is hands down better than Josh Oliver. Plus GB now has adequate depth with Whyle and a solid blocking TE in Redman. Advantage GB.

QB.
While Murray has shown periods of solid play, he’s never really popped off his 3900 21 TD type plateau. He’s more often been hampered with injuries and missed large sections of seasons with 1 complete season in the last 4 years. Love is coming in with an immediate connection to Reed and Watson and what looks to be a growing hot connection to Golden.
Advantage Green Bay.

 

[OldSchool101]

Safety Harrison Smith is returning to the Vikes for '26. He's got a week to refresh himself on the D but it shouldn't be too difficult.

GB 34 - Vikes 24

Interesting. He’s like an energizer Rabbit. He’ll turn 38 before this season is out.

 

[milani]

RB
Mason + Jones combined for 1,300 yards and 10 TD’s in 2025 at 4.6 per carry. While that’s not terrible it’s absolutely nothing scary level. No other Vikings player had more than 250 yards last year. GB has a pair of 3rd Rounders who are both relatively new or unproven. However that is unproven mostly because neither have been featured yet. This pair floats at 220lb and 226lb pounds and both were standout rushers in the Big 10 and SEC conferences. While neither have much experience, neither are Rookies either. Both have went through 2 or 3 NFL Camps or preseasons or played Teams. Both also have something to prove and are going to be highly motivated to do so. Advantage Minnesota.

WR
This is Minnesota’s strength. That said, past Jefferson they are just good but nothing special. They have an obvious true #1 in Jefferson. Addison has never cracked 960 all All purpose and last year had 630 yards and 3 TD’s across 14 games. Juan Jennings will provide a legit WR3+ Behind that they’d better pray nobody gets injured because it’s not good. 2025 RD3,
Tai Felton has 25 career yards and Myles Price has never caught an NFL pass. In addition Jeshaun Jones was recently suspended 3 games.
GB has a very good Slot in Reed who’s led our team just under 1,000 yards per in his healthy seasons. Golden is newer but no longer a Rookie and he’s likely going to see a jump in targets and very likely going to surprise folks. GB rarely misses on a top 50 type WR, much less top #23.

I think people are forgetting that we didn’t have Reed or Watson for 17 games in 2025. That’s like missing 1 ALL season. Now we’ve got a possession, deep threat and Slot Wideout along with a QB entering his prime. I’d give Minnesota a slight advantage on paper, but it’s entirely possible Murray will need time to perfect timing. Advantage Minnesota (on paper)

TE.
This goes to GB and it’s really not even close. Tucker Kraft is better than TJ Hockenson and while Tucker is on that field he’s a problem for opposing Defenses. The best MN can pray for is Tucker only plays 1 Qtr or had lots of rust. Good luck because he’s been impressing in practices.
Jonnu Smith is hands down better than Josh Oliver. Plus GB now has adequate depth with Whyle and a solid blocking TE in Redman. Advantage GB.

QB.
While Murray has shown periods of solid play, he’s never really popped off his 3900 21 TD type plateau. He’s more often been hampered with injuries and missed large sections of seasons with 1 complete season in the last 4 years. Love is coming in with an immediate connection to Reed and Watson and what looks to be a growing hot connection to Golden.
Advantage Green Bay.

Murray has made the Pro Bowl a few times. He adds to their running game in a way that neither Cousins, Darnold, or JJ have before. Now I imagine O' Connell does not want him running too much. We saw what it did to the Ravens last year. With those receivers you do not want him getting injured.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I believe we faced Murray once in Arizona on a Thursday night in 2021. He was a Pro Bowler. Davante and Lazard had COVID. The Cardinals were 7-0. Cobb made some plays. Robert Tonyan made a big gain and tore his ACL. MLF crafted maybe his best game plan as a coach. Rasul picked Murray on a mix up with AJ Green in the end zone to ice the game. Let's hope Murray has a few of those this time, too.

I remember that game and that pic. It was a nice win against a good Cardinals team.

As for the queens, I'm not sure the third time will be the charm in resurrecting QB careers. Murray is certainly good, but not near the top of his game.

But I'd much rather be facing JJM, who may be out of the NFL next season.

 

[OldSchool101]

Murray has made the Pro Bowl a few times. He adds to their running game in a way that neither Cousins, Darnold, or JJ have before. Now I imagine O' Connell does not want him running too much. We saw what it did to the Ravens last year. With those receivers you do not want him getting injured.

That’s one reason I think Kevin went after him. Murray is elusive against a Pass Rush. Not otherworldly good, but he offers a dynamic for Minnesota they haven’t had. One where they can flip to Running the ball and controlling the Clock and relying on a Top 10 area Defense to hold opponents to lower scoring. MN Run blocking is pretty good, it’s their Pass blocking that’s been very suspect.

 

[OldSchool101]

It’s accurate that Intra Division teams tend to have a better read on our strengths and weaknesses. It can obviously work both ways.

Coaching is another aspect that can factor. When GB took on John Gannon they got a Coach that has familiarity with the Vikings program. He was a Vikings DB Coach for 4yrs (2014-2017) and went on to Coach Murray’s former team (Arizona) for another 3 years (2023-2025). So he’s probably just one of several NFL Coaches who intricately knows Kylers’ strengths and weaknesses. That’s a very helpful tool when game planning.

 

[gopkrs]

I was watching an evaluation of The Pack on espn I think, and they said Gannon has a history of not liking to blitz. I hope he shows some flexibility with his scheme to match his players because I don't think we'll get much pressure rushing 4 without Micah. Maybe I'll be surprised. Somebody said we should blitz from the corners but I'm thinking Cooper. He's not a great cover linebacker but he can get to the QB pretty well. Anybody see the last play of Micigan last night? I couldn't believe Western didn't rush 6.

 

[OldSchool101]

I was watching an evaluation of The Pack on espn I think, and they said Gannon has a history of not liking to blitz. I hope he shows some flexibility with his scheme to match his players because I don't think we'll get much pressure rushing 4 without Micah. Maybe I'll be surprised. Somebody said we should blitz from the corners but I'm thinking Cooper. He's not a great cover linebacker but he can get to the QB pretty well. Anybody see the last play of Micigan last night? I couldn't believe Western didn't rush 6.

Hey @gopkrs. I’m ok with Gannon dialing up a few more Blitz packages also. He was doing that in Camp from each position group. I hope it carries to Regular season.

Cooper is actually pretty good across the board. Even the wheel route he gave up a TD in scrimmage? If you relook at that play like I did he was very close to dislodging that catch. I mean like sticky rice on the RB. That play was just a perfect throw placement out in front of the RB and a good solid catch. However I understand your overall point and agree.
I think we’ll see less Sacks from outside the Tackle, but more Sacks from inside. We have a bunch of 2-4 Tech types and each have Pass Rush prowess. Even with McClellan he’s a more Well rounded DT that has a knack of penetrating from an interior position. In some respects when you have really good LB’s you’d rather flush a QB a longer route to the sideline (interior pressure) that give him a clear hole up the gut (Edge Pressure).

 

[milani]

I remember that game and that pic. It was a nice win against a good Cardinals team.

As for the queens, I'm not sure the third time will be the charm in resurrecting QB careers. Murray is certainly good, but not near the top of his game.

But I'd much rather be facing JJM, who may be out of the NFL next season.

I would rather face JJ as well. Murray can manage the game. Against most defenses the talent on the field with him will score points. And that is what O'Connell wants. Now in the playoffs and you are facing a Seahawk or Ram defense or a SB vs. Denver or Houston then he would have to do more.

 

[OldSchool101]

I would rather face JJ as well. Murray can manage the game. Against most defenses the talent on the field with him will score points. And that is what O'Connell wants. Now in the playoffs and you are facing a Seahawk or Ram defense or a SB vs. Denver or Houston then he would have to do more.

That’s where Murray has not performed well or does not have much experience. He’s got 1 career playoff game logged and it didn’t go well.

 

[milani]

I was watching an evaluation of The Pack on espn I think, and they said Gannon has a history of not liking to blitz. I hope he shows some flexibility with his scheme to match his players because I don't think we'll get much pressure rushing 4 without Micah. Maybe I'll be surprised. Somebody said we should blitz from the corners but I'm thinking Cooper. He's not a great cover linebacker but he can get to the QB pretty well. Anybody see the last play of Micigan last night? I couldn't believe Western didn't rush 6.

Corner blitzing can work if you have a QB that cannot read it or lacks check down receivers. With Petine I believe, we sent Jaire Alexander on a corner blitz and he sacked Cousins for a safety on opening day. No one expected it. But with Murray, he can slip out just enough and find Hockenson or Jones in the flat.

 

[OldSchool101]

So far what Gannon is signaling is using Cooper in the Pass Rush more. He’s coming down and playing Edge. I like this because he proved formidable on our #6 ranked D in 2024.

 

[gopkrs]

So far what Gannon is signaling is using Cooper in the Pass Rush more. He’s coming down and playing Edge. I like this because he proved formidable in 2024.

I wasn't thinking about Cooper playing on the line. Edge? Are you thinking he's going to play edge? Or run in from the side? I was thinking he'd most likely be blitzing up the middle or not far away from there.

 

[OldSchool101]

I wasn't thinking about Cooper playing on the line. Edge? Are you thinking he's going to play edge? Or run in from the side? I was thinking he'd most likely be blitzing up the middle or not far away from there.

Edge. Gannon has already been flipping the Edge (Lukas or Sorrell) for Cooper just as recent as Preseason. What I saw is he did not take off the Will to play a Slot Defender. He was playing 3 Safeties and flipping Cooper “On-Ball”. This also coincided with Camp and it is why Bullard was in an interview back over a month ago (pre minor injury) and asked what he thought of their “new Safety configuration”. I’m sure you noticed that we went heavy this Roster at DT. On surface that keeps the DT fresh, but there’s a reason they need to be kept fresh as it’ll increase our % to keep 3 DT’s locked n loaded.

 

[OldSchool101]

You’ll notice the “type” of DT we went after weren’t pure Run Stop. We Rostered DT’s who can get after it on passing downs. As one example we passed on Orange and gave a green light to McClellan, who’s an “all-around” better balanced DT. I’m NOT suggesting he’s a better player (yet) but he signals a better fit to our Room and that’s a residual outcome of these change in concepts.

Then look at Karl, whose strength had clearly been Pass Rush. Now he can be left on the field and paired with 2 DT’s. Another example is FA Javon Hargrave who had the 3rd most Sacks on the Vikings last year. Another example is we parted ways with Stack but opted for Campbell. Away with the old in with the new (concept).

We should see its fruits in the next couple of weeks once we gain momentum. We have more bigger bodies in the middle more often that are atypical of our old Double Gap concept. That Gannon is a mastermind and there’s a reason he took Philly to a Championship.

 

[OldSchool101]

A big part of Week 1 is who’s ready. Obviously every team practices. Yet who is the team who has perfected the best timing. There’s a pretty big ? on Kyler until he’s had time to acclimate.

I don’t doubt that Kyler can outperform JJ McCarthy in a short term contest. There’s a very reasonable chance though that Kyler needs several weeks of playing time to perfect timing and fine tune adjustments. In the meantime he’s going to be Kyler and try to Win with his legs. I’d fully expect we keep a spy on him and force him to stand in the pocket and wait for routes to develop. The problem is this year GB will apply more pressure in the middle and force Kyler to buy time scrambling.

 

[El Guapo]

A big part of Week 1 is who’s ready. Obviously every team practices. Yet who is the team who has perfected the best timing. There’s a pretty big ? on Kyler until he’s had time to acclimate.

I don’t doubt that Kyler can outperform JJ McCarthy in a short term contest. There’s a very reasonable chance though that Kyler needs several weeks of playing time to perfect timing and fine tune adjustments. In the meantime he’s going to be Kyler and try to Win with his legs. I’d fully expect we keep a spy on him and force him to stand in the pocket and wait for routes to develop. The problem is this year GB will apply more pressure in the middle and force Kyler to buy time scrambling.

From all accounts that I read, Murray was near perfect in training camp. That is why KOC declared him the starter so soon. The contest wasn't even close.

The Vikings had no QB last year, so trying to compare the two seasons is a laughing matter. Murray is a more-than-capable QB and their offense is even more potent than last season with the addition of Jennings as a 3rd WR.

 

[milani]

A big part of Week 1 is who’s ready. Obviously every team practices. Yet who is the team who has perfected the best timing. There’s a pretty big ? on Kyler until he’s had time to acclimate.

I don’t doubt that Kyler can outperform JJ McCarthy in a short term contest. There’s a very reasonable chance though that Kyler needs several weeks of playing time to perfect timing and fine tune adjustments. In the meantime he’s going to be Kyler and try to Win with his legs. I’d fully expect we keep a spy on him and force him to stand in the pocket and wait for routes to develop. The problem is this year GB will apply more pressure in the middle and force Kyler to buy time scrambling.

O'Connell will likely simplify the playbook until the reps are there. The Viking offense may be more vanilla in WK 1. By WK 2 or 3 it will open up. Murray does not have to make great plays. He has the players to do that. He just has to execute the basic and protect the football.

 

[CarryTheG14]

Dangerous game, man. I wish we had Michah for this one.

I'm predicting a L here, but I think it's a shootout.

 

[OldSchool101]

From all accounts that I read, Murray was near perfect in training camp.

While this might be true and Obviously you want to put your best performance possible in any practices, Training Camp and playing live Games are completely different matters. We’ve had players look great in Training camp and start the season 0-1 plenty of times.

 

[OldSchool101]

For the record some people act like I’m discounting Minnesota. I never discount my opponent as any game in the NFL can be lost by underestimating our opponent.

That said Micah Parsons is 1 man. As much as he helps put us in Overdrive, he wasn’t even here in 2024 and we were a #6 ranked Defense. GB still has the makings of a very talented Roster. Specifically on D in 2026 we’ve bolstered our D ranks.

-We brought in Kenny Clark and Quay Walkers replacements with Hargrave and Zaire. Btw how many D snaps did Kenny Clark play for the Packers in 2025? Exactly my point.

-We’ve finally added a Stud Top 40 CB.

-we get Devonte Wyatt back and he missed a bunch of last season (gone Nov28?)

-we invested RD4 pick Barryn Sorrell in a talented and thick DL draft class. That guy should’ve went RD3 area.

-we brought in Enagbares replacement with Dani Sutton in RD4 and that guy was an absolute steal. In his first Preaeason game he was regular seen on film collapsing the Pocket. He’s Back!

-The only substantial player we’ve lost is Rashan Gary. Yet even fans on here did nothing but complain about him all last season. His snaps will go to a very effective Lukas Van Ness and other effective players like Sorrell and Cox Jr will see a spike in playing time.

We finally shedded our 2025 experiments at NT by shedding Stack and Wooden and upgraded to legit interior Defenders like McClellan or Campbell. Mac + Campbell >
Wooden + Stack

GB has one of the better Safety groups in the entire NFL. Our CB group was reinforced with Hadden and Cisse n both played lights out all Camp also. Hadden was trusted with filling in for Bull and he looks the part. Also Safety Oladapo was one of the Coaches most improved candidates in to 2026.


GB didn’t have its Top pair of WR’s together last meeting. Watson, Reed, Golden > Watson, Wicks, Doubs.

Our TE room bolsters Kraft, Jonnu and a couple of good deity players. The only position of concern is RB but we could do worse than Marshawn Lloyd.

Some people call it rose colored glasses. I call it being a fan a supporting my team. I’ve seen nothing that supports us not being able to win, even on the road which is tougher. If we sucked as bad as many of our own fans think id just tell you we sucked! If we start 0-3 I’ll jump on the suck train! I might even drive the train

 

[milani]

For the record some people act like I’m discounting Minnesota. I never discount my opponent as any game in the NFL can be lost by underestimating our opponent.

That said Micah Parsons is 1 man. As much as he helps put us in Overdrive, he wasn’t even here in 2024 and we were a #6 ranked Defense. GB still has the makings of a very talented Roster. Specifically on D in 2026 we’ve bolstered our D ranks.

-We brought in Kenny Clark and Quay Walkers replacements with Hargrave and Zaire. Btw how many D snaps did Kenny Clark play for the Packers in 2025? Exactly my point.

-We’ve finally added a Stud Top 40 CB.

-we get Devonte Wyatt back and he missed a bunch of last season (gone Nov28?)

-we invested RD4 pick Barryn Sorrell in a talented and thick DL draft class. That guy should’ve went RD3 area.

-we brought in Enagbares replacement with Dani Sutton in RD4 and that guy was an absolute steal. In his first Preaeason game he was regular seen on film collapsing the Pocket. He’s Back!

-The only substantial player we’ve lost is Rashan Gary. Yet even fans on here did nothing but complain about him all last season. His snaps will go to a very effective Lukas Van Ness and other effective players like Sorrell and Cox Jr will see a spike in playing time.

We finally shedded our 2025 experiments at NT by shedding Stack and Wooden and upgraded to legit interior Defenders like McClellan or Campbell. Mac + Campbell >
Wooden + Stack

GB has one of the better Safety groups in the entire NFL. Our CB group was reinforced with Hadden and Cisse n both played lights out all Camp also. Hadden was trusted with filling in for Bull and he looks the part. Also Safety Oladapo was one of the Coaches most improved candidates in to 2026.


GB didn’t have its Top pair of WR’s together last meeting. Watson, Reed, Golden > Watson, Wicks, Doubs.

Our TE room bolsters Kraft, Jonnu and a couple of good deity players. The only position of concern is RB but we could do worse than Marshawn Lloyd.

Some people call it rose colored glasses. I call it being a fan a supporting my team. I’ve seen nothing that supports us not being able to win, even on the road which is tougher. If we sucked as bad as many of our own fans think id just tell you we sucked! If we start 0-3 I’ll jump on the suck train! I might even drive the train

If we lose to the Jets that would be as bad as losing to Cleveland last season. MLF sometimes has trouble getting the team fired up for the league lessers.