Week 2 home opener: Packers v.s. Vikings

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Before we hand the Vikings the game also remember that Falcons defense was the 3rd worst run defense in the game last year giving up almost 5 ypc. Most places pegged them near the bottom again this year. Cook is a good runner but he will be facing a much different run defense in GB.

Yeah I do believe our defense at a minimum should be able to keep us in the game. Plus the Vikes got aided by a blocked punt and int early giving them two short field TDs.

But if our offense doesn't get fixed by this next game, they may only need between 16 and 20 points to win. All I can say is Gute had better hope it does or the angry mob will get louder calling for his head.

 

[PackAttack12]

Yeah I do believe our defense at a minimum should be able to keep us in the game. Plus the Vikes got aided by a blocked punt and int early giving them two short field TDs.

But if our offense doesn't get fixed by this next game, they may only need between 16 and 20 points to win. All I can say is Gute had better hope it does or the angry mob will get louder calling for his head.

Gute has done a very solid job thus far as the Packers GM. The fact that he’s been able to sort out the defense in just two offseasons is quite impressive.

The offense will be, and should be, given more than the second game of the season to gel and be effective.

Offensive reinforcements will be coming in the next year or two. But the unit will be just fine in the next few games. We just need the defense to continue doing its thing.

No one will be calling for Gute’s head after two games for an offense that’s working to adjust to a COMPLETELY new system and philosophy. That’s just nonsense.

 

[Mondio]

Calling it nonsense is being generous

 

[OldSchool101]

1. Don't turn the ball over. The Falcons had 3 turnovers and blocked punt.
2. Stop the run. It is fine if Cook gets some yards but he cant break big ones
3. Slow down the Viking's pass rush

I not only think these are all attainable, I think they are probable.
1. I believe we can win the turnover ratio..or at least go par.
2. Our Defense is the fastest I’ve seen since the second half of 2014. We are finally winning in the trenches on D and disrupting the flow. Then we have a lightning fast secondary that’s mopping up what the big boys start (see the Clark/Amos 3rd down stop on Trubisky when he tried to escape last week). We made Mitch look slow and he’s been very formidable in the past at making teams pay when hes forced to scramble.
3. While MN will likely be a top 10 Defense this year again, Chicago is better getting QB pocket disruption. I don’t think Rodgers gets sacked or hurried as often.

I think we score 17-24 range in our effort to congeal our O. I think this game is going to be very close. I stand by my opinion that Cousins is better than 60% of the QBs we will face.
Home field gives us an edge. GB23-MN21

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

I still claim if Rodgers keeps getting sacked like the game against the Bears,
he wouldn't last 16 games.
Maybe, like some said it'll take some time, but he just doesn't seem comfortable in the
pocket, and might start throwing the ball out of bounds like last last year.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

You never know what you're going to get out of Kirk Cousins - Sometimes he's Superman, sometimes he's Jimmy Olsen. Hopefully, Green Bay's defensive performance against the Bears can be repeated - It looks like the offense is a work in progress.

 

[Pugger]

Up in the division, yes. But there’s no such thing as a “commanding” lead after 2 games in the NFL.

True, but if you can get a game up against 2 of your main divisional rivals that will help towards taking that division.

 

[rodell330]

They will NOT win if they only score 10 pts....I’m willing to bet $500 on it. The Queens offense is better at every skill position than the Bears, especially at WR...and for some reason the Packer defense has always made Cousins look like Dan Marino. The Queens defense isn’t as good as the Bears is but they aren’t far off. They definitely have the pieces to give Rodgers and the offense fits that’s for sure. It's a home game but so what. You still are going to have to score points...can’t be constantly going three and out and putting the defense on the field. Sustain some damn drives

 

[AmishMafia]

Packers will do better against the Vikings than the Bears.

Packer run defense should be very good. With the Smith Brothers being excellent at setting the edge, and Clark setting the push up the middle, Martinez should do better with Cook than the Falcons. Vikings weak spot is their OLine, so i expect cousins to have a rough day and the Packers will have opportunities for turnovers.

On offense, the Packers need to spread the defense and take their time. AR needs to quickly take what the defense gives him. If he is patient, we will be able to move the ball. Will be a tough day for our RBs running stats, but it should be good day for RBs in the short routes and screens. We need Geronimo to have a big day on the intermediate routes.

I think we get 2 ints and 1 fumble and beat the basturds 24-20.

 

[PackAttack12]

True, but if you can get a game up against 2 of your main divisional rivals that will help towards taking that division.

I sure am glad that I have you and @Do7 to state the obvious for me.

 

[PackAttack12]

Packers will do better against the Vikings than the Bears.

Packer run defense should be very good. With the Smith Brothers being excellent at setting the edge, and Clark setting the push up the middle, Martinez should do better with Cook than the Falcons. Vikings weak spot is their OLine, so i expect cousins to have a rough day and the Packers will have opportunities for turnovers.

On offense, the Packers need to spread the defense and take their time. AR needs to quickly take what the defense gives him. If he is patient, we will be able to move the ball. Will be a tough day for our RBs running stats, but it should be good day for RBs in the short routes and screens. We need Geronimo to have a big day on the intermediate routes.

I think we get 2 ints and 1 fumble and beat the basturds 24-20.

I agree that it'll be tough in the running game, but somehow the Packers have to find a way to get some solid positive yardage on 1st down. If it gets to 2nd/3rd and longs consistently, Zimmer is bringing the heat on Rodgers.

I really don't want a repeat of the constant pressure that Chicago was getting last week, delivering punishment to 12.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

Good teams need both Offense and Defense clicking at the same time to win,
Ex. right now: The Patriots and the Chiefs.

Sometimes you get lucky and still win if one falters like our game against the Bears.

 

[Do7]

I sure am glad that I have you and @Do7 to state the obvious for me.

You're the one that started this simply because you couldn't just let what I said go about having a "commanding" lead. Wasn't a big deal. -_-

 

[Pkrjones]

I'm not too afraid of Minnesota if the D plays like they did against the Bears.

- Don't let Dalvin Cook run wild, keep contain and limit his runs to 4 yds. or less will force Cousins to air it out. 2 picks by Savage/Amos this week.
- Offense needs to use 2-TE sets early downs to keep their D honest. Lewis & Tonyan can either block or receive giving the offense flexibility. Would put Graham in on obvious passing downs, only.
- Aaron Jones needs to get some holes to pop thru and that'll soften-up their D even more for Adams & MVS to have room to roam.
- AR didn't have much time on 1/2 his drop backs to find any downfield receivers... he'll have more time this week. Still needs to check-down rather than take the sack, though... hopefully he saw his missed checkdowns on film.
- Wouldn't mind seeing the occasional 5WR formation using our big WR's ~ no way their DB's can match-up against 6'-4" MVS & Kumerow, 6'-3" Allison w/ 6'-1" Adams & Davis flying deep. A little "wrinkle" would be fun to see and possibly very productive.


ST comes through for a big play this week, also. GB 38, MN 24

 

[Half Empty]

I just hope this doesn't become the 6th preseason game. We saw the 5th last Thursday.

 

[Dantés]

Week one results are difficult to judge, because there isn't much of a frame of reference. We don't know if the Vikings' defense is particularly good or the Falcons' offense is particularly bad. I'll venture some observations:

• The score makes it look like these teams were unevenly matched, talent-wise, but I didn't think that was the case. The Falcons were -3 in TO margin and had a blocked punt, and that basically explains the score between two teams that I think are pretty comparable. Ryan's first pick came on a 50/50 ball that, while too high, could have easily come down as a Julio Jones reception. Freeman's fumble at MIN's 20 is just bad luck. And Ryan's 2nd pick probably should have been flagged, as Harris impeded Stocker and pushed off of him while the ball was in the air. Was still a horrible decision. The Vikings aren't going to find Rodgers as easy to turn over.
• The Falcons were able to move the ball through the air. They had a 46 yard drive end with a fumble and a 51 yard drive end with a terrible pick in the end zone. They ended the game with scoring drives of 66 yards and 62 yards.
• They really struggled to establish a running attack with Freeman, but Ito Smith found some open grass.
• The TE was the weakness of the Vikings' defense on Sunday (Austin Hooper had 9 catches on 9 targets for 77 yards), as it was last season, and as it is in most Zimmer defenses.
• For how rarely Cousins threw the ball, he was under quite a bit of pressure.
• The Vikings ran the ball with authority and Cook looked explosive. Falcons had a bottom 5 rush defense last year, so it's hard to judge.
• Everson Griffen was back in style. He gave Jake Matthews a lot of problems.

I think this is going to be another low scoring affair. The Packer offense should be able to hold up better against the Vikings' pass rush than it did against the Bears', but I would still expect a fair bit of pressure. It will help to be at home. When he has time, I think Aaron will be able to move the ball effectively, but I would also expect some more clunkiness as the system is still new. We will see how the running game looks with another week under the belt.

On defense, if they can stop the rushing attack and force Cousins to pass, I think they're going to hit him quite a bit. The Falcons' pass rush is worse than ours, and they were getting after it pretty consistently despite Cousins only attempting ten passes.

Take care of the ball, find the tight ends, stop the run, hit Cousins, and get to 2-0.

 

[PackAttack12]

• The TE was the weakness of the Vikings' defense on Sunday (Austin Hooper had 9 catches on 9 targets for 77 yards), as it was last season, and as it is in most Zimmer defenses.

Take care of the ball, find the tight ends, stop the run, hit Cousins, and get to 2-0.

Nice observation. I was coming here to post just that, along with stating that LaFleur utilizes tight ends far more than Green Bay offenses in the past. Rodgers completed 18 balls last Thursday, and 6 of them (or 33%) were to tight ends. I think it's fair to assume LaFleur will incorporate a plan to get the TE's involved in this one.

 

[mongoosev]

Should be well rested before this game. They couldn't pray for a better schedule. A Thursday week 1 game and a long week of rest before THREE home games? They BETTER win...they only have themselves to blame! I don't care how good Minn is, Packers have a lot of talent on that squad and they have advantage of serving cheese curds in the locker room to make the vikings slow and sluggish before the game!

 

[Do7]

Should be well rested before this game. They couldn't pray for a better schedule. A Thursday week 1 game and a long week of rest before THREE home games? They BETTER win...they only have themselves to blame! I don't care how good Minn is, Packers have a lot of talent on that squad and they have advantage of serving cheese curds in the locker room to make the vikings slow and sluggish before the game!

You see this being a close game or more of a decisive win? Personally I see us winning by at least 2 or 3 possessions. Call it a gut feeling.

 

[mongoosev]

You see this being a close game or more of a decisive win? Personally I see us winning by at least 2 or 3 possessions. Call it a gut feeling.

If I had that gift I would be rich with stocks and gambling, but since you asked and i'm a betting man, I'd say A-Rod will give have a discount double check of 3 possessions to their Liberty Mutual 1 TD! Bring the hurt to them!

 

[Do7]

Granted our rivalry is with Chicago, but for me I've always despised Minnesota with a passion. That is the one team I will never cheer for, and I always hope we beat the breaks off of them. If we lose to Chicago, i'm fine with it, but Minnesota, that ruins my week.

I think for me it all started when Moss pretended to moon the crowd and we lost the way we did to them in the playoffs. I laugh about it now, but I remember how much I despised him for doing that and for The Vikings beating us. Plus their fans are obnoxious.

 

[PackAttack12]

You see this being a close game or more of a decisive win? Personally I see us winning by at least 2 or 3 possessions. Call it a gut feeling.

The same gut feeling you had when you said the Packers would beat the Bears by at least two possessions?

Calm down, turbo.

 

[mongoosev]

The same gut feeling you had when you said the Packers would beat the Bears by at least two possessions?

Calm down, turbo.

All that matters is we won. I'd like to analogy here and compare it to stocks. Doesn't matter how much you win with equities as long as you come out on top with profits and pay the brokerage gee! How's that saying go, winners go home with the teacher and the loser goes home with the janitor?

 

[Dantés]

Rashan Gary was pretty disruptive in the handful of snaps he received on Thursday. I bet they give him more snaps against the Vikings. Also wouldn't be surprised if we see Jenkins on the field. Rookie draft class could really start to make its presence felt, with Savage already playing great football.

 

[Do7]

The same gut feeling you had when you said the Packers would beat the Bears by at least two possessions?

Calm down, turbo.

Hey we won didn't we? And I would've been right had those penalties not knocked us out of FG position. XD