The surprisingly successful Packers will face the surprisingly unsuccessful Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field tonight for some Monday Night Football. Packers’ offense has been on fire so far this season while the Falcons’ defense has been abysmal so we should see another high scoring game for the Pack. Sportsbooks are heavily favoring the Packers to win this one.
WR Davante Adams tweeted this earlier about not being able to participate, but the tweet seems to have since been deleted:
The tweet’s deletion is more likely due to the passive-aggressive nature towards the end, but Adams’ frustration is perfectly understandable.
Packers’ WR Davante Adams announced he’s out for tonight’s game against the Falcons. He has felt ready to play but the Packers’ medical staff has been cautious with him, especially with Green Bay on a bye after this week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2020
This means that both WR1 Davante Adams and WR2 Allen Lazard(who is now on injured reserve) will not be participating tonight. The Packers are able to move two receivers from the practice squad today. Either way, the Falcons defense has resembled swiss cheese lately so our chances are still pretty good.
I’ll say this now: Given the circumstances, if WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling does not come through with a big game: he’s officially useless. This is the day that MVS is supposed to shine. The stars are all aligned for him.
It’s looking like Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones will be active tonight:
#Falcons WRs Julio Jones (hamstring) and Calvin Ridley (ankle) — both listed as questionable — will play tonight against the #Packers, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 5, 2020
A Few Things to Know:
There will be no fans in attendance
This is the second MNF meeting between the Packers and Falcons in Green Bay — The previous meeting was in 2014
The Packers have started 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1965-66
QB Aaron Rodgers is currently the highest rated player in the league, according to Pro Football Focus
Green Bay has won seven of its last nine home games on MNF
Rodgers has played in 17 Monday games, recording a passer rating of 98.1 that ranks No. 3 among active players
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur served as Atlanta’s quarterbacks coach for two seasons (2015-16)
Falcons defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and offensive line coach Chris Morgan coached alongside LaFleur for the Washington Football Team between 2011-13
Packers tight ends coach Justin Outten served on the Falcons’ coaching staff from 2016-18
Falcons senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton coached under Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine when Pettine held the same position for the Jets from 2009-12
Game Information
When: 7:50 PM (CT) [This was recently changed due to the Patriots – Chiefs game being rescheduled]
Where: Lambeau Field
Television: ESPN
Radio: 101 WIXX / Newsradio 620 WTMJ
As previously noted….i didn’t think Adams would play because of the bye week coming. The medical staff knows what to look for reading MRI’s and the Packers decision makers have to look at the bigger picture. So i don’t have a problem with the call.
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That said….with Lazard out. The Packers will have to execute with what they have and their new playbook. Maybe we’ll get a 3 headed running (and passing) attack, idk.
With the inexperienced tight ends, MVS, and the backs catching some balls out of the backfield, will that be enough to beat the Falcons?
Can we win with a #3 receiver and #4 or #5 receivers? Possibly, but that is the hand Gute dealt.
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The Falcons have scored 30 ppg in their 3 losses, about the same as our defense gives up a game. So in simplistic terms, the offense knows what it has to do.
As far as MVS….i’m not putting this game on his shoulders. I’m not putting his head in a guillotine based on his success this one game. The Falcons don’t have to key on Adams or Lazard so MVS will get the defense’s attention. They may disrupt him up on the line, maybe (probably) shade a safety to him the whole game.
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Maybe he’s a hero and catches 6 passes for 120 yards, 2 TD’s idk, but……i’m not putting a 5th round draft choices head on the chopping block simply because Gute has chosen to ignore this position time and time again.
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I’ll go one further…MVS is not a franchise receiver, those usually aren’t drafted in the 5th round. He’s not Adams, DK Metcalf, Justin Jefferson.
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MVS is a compliment receiver, we were hoping he’s a #2, but realistically he’s a #3 or #4. He is supposed to be fast, although i’m not sold on that yet. He’s a work in progress that has given you enough big plays to not want to give up on him yet, but even that day is coming.
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In my limited mind…the difference between a receiver picked in the 1st round compared to mid – late rounds is athleticism and more importantly, route running. I don’t think i’ve ever heard MVS accused of being a great route runner from anyone. Somewhat related, he also has another problem that needs work. That is his horrible target catch rate of 49.3.
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He’s a compliment receiver hoping to take the top off a defense as evidenced by his 20.6 YPC this season. I don’t know how MVS will do tonight, and i don’t care if they have to run for 300 yards. But if they win and the Packers are 4-0 and still undefeated, it will be a fantastic night given the circumstances.
Btw…..I’m not going to discuss the error that Julio Jones is noted as a rb, because that would just be petty on my part, so i’m not even going to bring it up.
to err is human
Well…..there is plenty of prove your not an alien then. 😂
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I’m sorry, i apologize for that comment, it was cold, cruel, and unprovoked. Please don’t ban me until after the Falcons game.
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TY Sir.
*proof
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That goes over better with better grammar.
Well this should be interesting as the Packers don’t have that many receivers on the active roster. And the guys Rodgers will throwing to have made costly mistakes.
Yes!!! I was wrong again. Matt Ryan is a shell of himself.
OK I have the offense for tonight. Don’t tell Atlanta. Jones left. Jones right. Jones screen. Jones over the middle. Jones long. Jones short. Drop by MVS. Jones left. Jones right. AJ Dillon on the bench (nice pick) 1st round pick inactive that could have been a WR. Drop by MVS. Tonyan for 3 yards. MVS drop.
Matt L going to earn his $$$ tonight. Falcons should be 2-1. Hopefully they will Falcon…again.
Even if Green Bay is 4-0 does anyone really see them beating KC or Baltimore? I don’t.
MVS isn’t on the chopping block if he doesn’t have a big game tonight. He is and always will be a complimentary receiver, a deep threat that forces defenses to keep a safety deep. He is good for a shot play here and there. I don’t foresee him stepping into a number one guy’s position and having 8 catches for 130.
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This isn’t a reflection of Gute either. Most teams will have issues when their top 3-4 guys go down. Can anyone else here name the #4 guys on any other squad in the NFL? No? I said it before, and it’s worth mentioning again. Nobody foresees three receivers being injured at the same time as well as a guy opting out because a pandemic.
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This is not an optimal situation but this is where your offensive coordinator/play caller make the big bucks and formulate a game plan of spreading the ball around and get tight ends and running backs involved. Or just simply run the ball with great success. Also don’t necessarily sleep on Shepherd.
Ummm…how long has Lazard been our #2 receiver? A few weeks now?
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Top 3 or 4 guys? I’m just curious, who are the #3 and #4 that went down?
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Nobody is sleeping on Shepherd, he does have 1 NFL catch…for one yard in his career. He’s ready.
This takes me back to when Jordy had surgery and missed the 2015 season, Randall Cobb our #2 was expected to pick up the slack, with some help from newly signed James Jones.
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James Jones beat Cobb and was our #1 receiver, Ironic, because after having one standout season of over 1200 yards, Cobb INSISTED he get paid as a #1 receiver in his new contract, which the Packers did. His production never again reached his 2014 level. Matter of fact, it gradually decreased each season.
ESB and Funchess? They were counting on them along with Lazard and Adams to be the guys. I was comfortable with that group along with MVS going into the season. Philly won the game last night against a very good 49ers team on a TD pass to a guy I had never heard of.
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I am not saying Shepherd is going to set league on fire, I just have a weird feeling he will have a very good game tonight. Idk man, just call it a hunch, but I have been wrong a few times in my life
Ok, to be straight…our 3 and 4 is one guy who hasn’t caught a pass since 12/23/18?
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The other is a guy who has never caught a pass from the Packers, or even put on a Packer uniform?
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If those are the guys they were counting on, they counted wrong.
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My weird feeling (hunch) is Rodgers will have at least one pick tonight and the Packers lose. I feel it in my bones. But i’ve been wrong before, a lot more than a few times, and i’ll be fine to be wrong again tonight.
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We agree to disagree a lot Kato, and there isn’t a damn thing wrong with that.
Keep on, keepin on.
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Bill O’Brien fired, which isn’t too surprising when you have one of the best QBs in the game and are sitting at 0-4. I always thought he was an awful coach and his game management makes McCarthy look like a genius.
Bill O’Brien was also the Texan’s GM. The loses combined with trading Hopkins In the off season may have been the final nail. Not sure about how other moves O’Brien made as GM worked out?
Yeah that was an awful decision. DeAndre Hopkins is literally one of the three best receivers in the league, and the offense has suffered because of it
O’Brien won the division like 4 times, and then made some of the worst GM decisions ever. Matt Millen II. He probably made enough money to never work again though. I think he has a couple years left on contract.
Seems like Kenny Clark and Darnell Savage are out as well. Packers need this bye week badly. Clark is key to that defense
It was reported that Savage left the Saints game wearing a walking boot, why wasn’t he on the injury report i’m wondering.
No Rashan Gary or Marcedes Lewis. Oof. This may end up being a loss although never underestimate the fact the falcons don’t have their kicker
Apparently the defense is allowing an 88.9% completion percentage on third down. Holy f***. That has to go down.
Someone may want to tell Kevin King if he wants to make the big bucks that he needs to make that tackle on Julio Jones. Also, you draft a 250lb running back in the second round. Seems like in short yardage situations like the 4th and goal play would be the time to play him?
Also, the inexperience at the receiver position reared its ugly head on the play before when Shepherd ran too shallow of a route and should have had a TD
What’s with Kevin King?…he lightly touches a guys leg, Z’Smith clearly makes the solo tackle after the runner gets by King. Then King starts jumping up and down, jawin and screaming and pounding his fist in the air, dancing around like he just found the cure for Covid.
Since i’m here….about J. Williams. you got a first down…fantastic. You really have to stand there for awhile and strut and dance because of it? Act like you’ve done it before….c’mon man!!
Didnt somebody on here this week say that the Packers would continue using the TEs more? I think somebody said that. Oh yeah it was me, lol. Sorry i had to.
With Lazard and Adams out. We are all in shock you called that. NICE!
I said they were going to keep using the rb’s. So i have that going for me.
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Keep us updated.
F*** yeah Robert Tonyan. Also gotta give credit to the defense. You buying drinks PF4L?
I don’t see why not, but i’m liquid poor right now.
Let me try and see if i can get an advance from J P.
JP got fucked by the covid economy pretty hard and also the IRS
What?…you have none of the $1200 stimulus money left?
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Ya know, that’s just great…i’ll just…keep working for free i guess.
still waiting for my Soros checks
Look, i’m a giver…..if you ever need a few bucks…..i heard Rob is sitting on a fat pension.
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But…you didn’t hear it from me.
Robert Tonyan with as many TD’s in this game as Jimmy Graham had all last year. Tonyan with as many TD’s in three games as Graham had in two years in GB. Moral of the story- Graham may be a nice guy, but he was a massively overpaid flop. Easily Gutes dumbest move in my eyes when viewed in combination with giving Nelson the boot.
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That was a nice defended pass by Amos in the endzone late in the game.
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It’s refreshing to see the different play calls with the misdirection, play action, etc. It definitely helps Rodgers out There was a stat that said Rodgers was 17/17 when throwing to RB’s and TE’s. Never saw any of that with the Old Regime. Run it up the middle three times, punt, and hope the clock runs out before the other team can score.
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This was a fun win to watch, even if it was against the 0-3 Falcons who were severely depleted.
Cheese Tonyan has 5 TDs this year in four games as Graham had in his 32 game stint with the Packers. Just goes to show you don’t have to have flashy free agent signings to get solid production. Coaching and scheme makes a big difference
I swear to God Cheese…once Tonyan caught that 3rd TD, that same thought of Graham ran through my head…lol.
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First of all….how cool is it the Packers are 4-0 going into the bye week and the Packers are 6-0 in games Adams has missed.
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Also, i don’t know what to think of the Falcons offense, but i reckon i have to give our defense at least some credit for it. The other good thing is they are finally going the right direction to improve their scoring defense.
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I’m not an expert on washed up QB’s like some in here. But…didn’t Ryan look lost and he had nothing on his passes? I remember a couple 4th quarter passes where he had some good spin on the ball, but…there seems to be something wrong with that boy.
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If i’m Dan Quinn, i’m not feeling really comfortable about my job security. They just look terrible. I thought we left receivers wide open….holy shit!
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Fun night for the team and congrats to Tonyan for balling out. And, i understand the Falcons looked pathetic, but again…nice job to ML, AR, and DH for stitching an offensive game plan together minus our two pass catchers.
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In cased you missed it: Julio Jones went out with what was his reported reoccurring hamstring injury. This is why they kept Adams out. Again…big picture.
Oops, yea Amos had a pass defended. Nice job, doing your job.
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Speaking of which….Z Smitty was all over the field….like a Tasmanian devil.
Hopefully Preston Smith can get off IR soon.
Also of note, Calvin Ridley had 100 yards in each of the first three games this year. 0 catches today, that’s a huge plus. Julio Jones was also limited although we don’t know how healthy he was, especially since he left the game after the first half
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Let’s heal up over this bye. Adams, Clark, Deguara, Savage, and the offensive line were banged up early this year. Take the week to recover. Be smart, don’t do stupid crap that puts you at risk of contracting COVID. Also worth noting Rodgers is playing well. Whether that’s because another year of familiarity in the offense, or extra motivation from the Jordan Love draft pick, or both, it doesn’t matter. If they have any shot of reaching the super bowl, he has to be on the top of his game like he has been the first month
Rodgers is doing ok…i suppose.
The one thing I didn’t like: Falcons making 3 fourth downs in a row. Hope KK is not going Damarious Randall’s comedy capers jumping and tackling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bBtxrhdhY
Meeting with Snacks Harrison this week, could be huge for the run defense and be as impactful as the Howard Greene signing in 2010.
I sometimes wonder if Rodgers plays better without Adams. At times when Adams is in, it seems Rodgers wants to force-feed him the ball. Which is fine, I suppose, because he is probably the best skill position player on that offense. But I wonder if it comes to the detriment of the Rodgers running the offense and not spreading the ball around. Maybe it is because he is more comfortable in the offense, I don’t know, but it seems he is spreading the ball out more sans Adams and the offense is that much better because of it.
Rodgers always played his best when he spread the ball around, those were some of his greatest games. Kind of like how Favre improved after Sharp had to retire.
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As for Adams, i can’t really prove it, but i think he’s more of a me guy than a team guy. Remember after the Denver game last season i think it was, he complained that he only got 4 targets after the game. The thing was, they won the game. It’s like, what are you bitching about dude?
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Also, the tweet that JP posted of Adams, lends a bit of credence to that.
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Lastly….when someone else scores a TD, he doesn’t seem as excited as others. Not that he disregards it, but it just seems he show’s the minimum in enthusiasm.
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Call me whacked…but that’s what i see.
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I see the same things as you do, and don’t think you are whacked. I like Davante Adams and think he is a great player. It just sucks that most number one receivers are like that. He isn’t anywhere close to Chad Johnson’s level, or Terrel Owens, but it is worth pointing out that the offense has looked great without him in the lineup. It’s a relatively small sample size (6 games) but Rodgers stats are better across the board in those six games than games with him in the lineup. I think there is a fine balance between trying to get the ball to your best receiver and playing the offense and throwing to whoever is open. It’s like I pointed out last year a few times, it felt like Rodgers was keying in on Adams too much and missing sight of open guys. Hopefully when Adams returns Rodgers keeps doing what he is doing and trusting the offense because this is as well as I have seen him play in a long time. He isn’t missing throws, he isn’t missing open guys, he is having fun flexing at the camera. It’s refreshing as hell to be quite honest.
The same thing crossed my mind about Adams when I saw the 6-0 stat without him. They do move the ball around a lot more when he’s not there. Plus, for some reason, Rodgers has always loved trying to force the ball to Davante even back when Cobb and Nelson were still on the team.
For me…it was more that he was complaining that HE didn’t get enough targets, after a win. Who does that? Dez Bryant?..Antonio Brown?
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I think that boy needs some tough love and and lessons learned that no one is bigger than the team. Not even Rodgers.
Jaire Alexander is the number one rated corner according to PFF. At least one of the guys on the defense has been balling
We have three players on defense who arguably are Pro Bowl level. There is one big reason for that. They put forth 100% effort,….,whistle to whistle…EVERY play. They are two players being ultra aggressive flying around the field and one player being a beast up front.
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Jaire has to work harder at it because he’s shorter and doesn’t have the length that sometimes hurts him, but he makes up for it in overall play.
RIP Eddie Van Halen. 2020 has taken a lot of legends. Neil Peart, Gale Sayers, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Tom Dempsey, Kobe Bryant, Willie Davis, and Bob Gibson
Amen brother.
I’d imagine the crowd attending Eddie’s wake is going to be a who’s who.
Tonyan needs to wear 82 for Paul Coffman. I think it is actually him. I looked up Coffman’s stats, he had 11TDs in 1983. 6 more Tonyan! I also learned that Coffman ended his career in Minnesota. I was a kid so I forgot I guess, but that really tarnishes my memory of him. 8 games in purple, no stats.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CoffPa00.htm
In other news, 3rd round pick Josiah Deguara is out for for the season due to an ACL injury.
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Also….Thanks to JP, Rob and the other writers for getting this site back on track. We don’t talk about it, but we appreciate the work you guys put in.
Aaron Rodgers on past criticism: ‘Down years for me are career years’ for other QBs”
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It’s like deja vu , where have i heard that before?
I suppose it’s possible (probable) Rodgers reads my post in here and he was so impressed with that comment, he wrote it down and waited for the right time to pull it out.
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That’s most likely what happened. I don’t want to harp on it on the risk that i portray myself as the most profound commenter in here, so instead, i choose not to talk about it.
Tonyan has more TDs than these guys combined
▪️Travis Kelce
▪️Darren Waller
▪️Hunter Henry
▪️Evan Engram
▪️Rob Gronkowski